Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa named after the Niger River. Niger is bordered by Libya to the northeast, Chad to the east, Nigeria to the south, Benin to the southwest, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, and Algeria to the northwest.

Niger is a developing country, which consistently ranks near the bottom of the United Nations' Human Development Index. The economy of Niger centers on subsistence crops, livestock, and some of the world's largest uranium deposits.

The West African CFA franc is the currency of eight independent states in West Africa: Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo. When the CFA franc was introduced, notes issued by the Banque Centrale des Etats de l'Afrique Occidentale in denominations of 5, 10, 25, 50, 100 and 1000 francs were in circulation. 500-franc notes were added in 1946, followed by those of 5,000 francs in 1948.

Today we are discussing a 500 Francs banknote of 1997. This green, yellow and brown note has a Man dressed in a traditional costume to right and flood control dam to left on the obverse; there is a garden tractor and native art on the reverse.

Image Courtesy: Pinterest