Belgian Congo 1888 10 centimes
This specimen was lot 1582 in Stephen Album sale 30 (Santa Rosa, CA, January 2018), where it sold for $141. The catalog description[1] noted, "BELGIAN CONGO: Leopold II, 1885-1909, AE 10 centimes, 1888, État indépendant du Congo issue, a lovely example! PCGS graded MS66 BR." This type was also struck 1887-89 and 1894. The 1888 must have been saved as it is common in all grades.
The history of the Congo has long been unhappy. The region was claimed by Leopold III of Belgium in the 1880's as his private domain, ostensibly to end the slave trade which had long afflicted the area. Instead, he instituted a reign of terror as natives were massacred if they failed to yield their assigned quota of rubber and ivory. Finally, after a world outcry, the government of Belgium annexed the area in 1908 and ended the most abusive practices. Still, few wept when the colonizers withdrew in 1960. Violence and exploitation continue to this day, fulfilling white racists' worst stereotypes about "darkest Africa."
Recorded mintage: 40,000 for 1887-88.
Specification: copper, 35 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM 4 (listed under Congo Free State).
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Album, Stephen, Joseph Lang, Paul Montz, Michael Barry and Norman Douglas Nicol, Auction 30, featuring the George Anderson Collection of Tibetan Coins, the Dr. John W. Lund Collection of Swedish Coins and the Mike Edwards Collection, Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2018.
Link to: