Belgian Congo 50 Francs 1944, my White Whale is a White Elephant

Discussion in 'World Coins' started by willieboyd2, May 16, 2021.

  1. willieboyd2

    willieboyd2 First Class Poster

    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.

    [​IMG]
    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:

    [​IMG]
    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.

    :)
     
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  3. MIGuy

    MIGuy Supporter! Supporter

    I love those Elephant coins - here are mine! 2francs2.jpg 2francs1.jpg
     
  4. Antonius Britannia

    Antonius Britannia Well-Known Member

    Great looking examples!
     
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  5. Choucas

    Choucas Well-Known Member

    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).
     
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  6. MIGuy

    MIGuy Supporter! Supporter

    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 -

    sarc2.jpg sarc1.jpg car1.jpg car2.jpg
     
    Last edited: May 16, 2021
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  7. spirityoda

    spirityoda Coin Junky

    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...

    Zl5TnnYbTkCWoJ7ffT71_4-22-13 181 copy.jpg
    u4EsYmE0RIGWbII5spAd_4-22-13 182 copy.jpg
    coins5 019 copy 3.jpg
    coins5 020 copy.jpg

    You might like these Thailand elephants ?
    cc 13 123 copy.jpg
    cc 13 118 copy.jpg
    ooo copy.jpg
    OpcJVU0dT4WocnKnEKnH_1064985_38762224855rt025046_1524999722_o copy.jpg
     
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