I had wanted to have one of these big coins since I was a kid in 1964 when I saw one in R. S. Yeoman's book A Catalog of Modern World Coins. I finally got one after 60 years. Belgian Congo 50 Francs 1944 Silver, 35 mm, 17.37 gm, 500 fine Obverse: Elephant facing left / 1944 Reverse: BANQUE DU CONGO BELGE (French) / BANK VAN BELGISCH CONGO (Flemish) / 50 FR Mint: South African Mint in Pretoria It was later joined by a similar but smaller coin: Belgian Congo 2 Francs 1943 Brass, 28x25 mm, 5.93 gm, hexagonal Mint: Philadelphia Mint The United States was happy to mint these coins for the Belgian authorities. The Belgian Congo had a large uranium mine which had been closed in 1937 as no one wanted uranium. The mine was re-opened in 1944 and the newly mined uranium was sent to America.
Neat coins! They are not that easy to find, even in Belgium. The 2 francs is one of the few modern coins with a spelling mistake (BELGISH instead of BELGISCH).
I have a fair number of African coins, though I haven't really formally collected them - I have been to South Africa, Lesotho, Senegal, Mali, Gambia, Zaire and Sierra Leone and love the people and places. Here's a couple more I like lately -
I still want that 50 francs, but the get pricey in high grade. Down the road I will get 1. I have these and more , but I can not find the pics... You might like these Thailand elephants ?