French West Africa 1948 2 francs

formerly in the Mountain Groan Collection

French West Africa was an administrative grouping of the various French colonies in West Africa, including Mauretania, Senegal, Dahomey (now Benin), French Sudan (now Mali), Ivory Coast, Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso), Niger and French Guinea. Togo was added later. All obtained independence by the early 1960's and today the coinage is obsolete. The specimen shown is an aluminum two francs, struck in Paris (note the privy mark) in 1948 and 1955.

Recorded mintage: 12,665,000.

Specification: 2.24 g, aluminum, 27 mm diameter, designed by Lucien Georges Bazor.

Catalog reference: KM 4.

Source:

• Gadoury, Victor, and George Cousinié, Monnaies Coloniales Françaises, 1670-1988, 2me Éd., Monaco: Éditions Victor Gadoury, 1988.
• Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.

Link to:

• 1944 50 centimes
• 1944 franc
• Djibouti 1948 2 francs
• French Equatorial Africa 1948 2 francs
• 1955 franc
• Coins and currency dated 1948