2019-06-25 Tue

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 looking at a 5000 Francs banknote issued in 2012. The obverse depicts a stylised sawfish which is a reproduction of the bronze figurine which was formerly used to weigh gold powder among Akan people. It is the symbol of prosperity and fruitfulness in African mythologies and a depiction of the importance of agricultural production. There are Banana plantation and an aerial view of irrigated rice fields to right. The reverse depicts the famous Savanna grasslands of West Africa with two antelopes Kob (Kobus Kob).

Image Courtesy: Roberts World Money