1m — One Million Zaïres
The artwork
Front: Mobutu Sese Seko in his marshal's peaked cap and heavy horn-rimmed glasses, filling the right third of the note against a fan of red guilloche and the vertical denomination. Below him the arms of Zaïre — a leopard's head between arrow and spear. A leopard springs across the lower centre, above the date 31-7-1992 and the governor's signature. "Banque du Zaïre — un million de zaïres" heads the panel.
Back: The suspension bridge at Matadi over the Congo, seen from the bank in dusky violet: towers, cable curves and the deck running away between low hills, with a cargo vessel below. A large green and blue rosette overlaps the vignette on the right. "Banque du Zaïre 1.000.000" runs along the foot, with the counterfeiting warning set small in the top right corner.
In circulation
A creature of Zaïre's hyperinflation: dated 31 July 1992 and worth little by the time it was spent. In October 1993 the currency was reformed, the nouveau zaïre replacing the old unit at three million to one, and notes of this series were swept away wholesale.
Details
- IssuerBanque du Zaïre
- CurrencyZaïre
- DenominationOne Million Zaïres
- Collectedon the Zaire journey, 1992
- SeriesDated 31 July 1992
- PrinterGiesecke & Devrient, Munich
- SignatureLe Gouverneur — single signature
- SecurityPrinted warning on the back: "Le contrefacteur est puni de servitude pénale"