Belgian Congo 1927 10 centimes

from the Mountain Groan Collection

This specimen was struck at the Brussels mint for the Belgian Congo 1910-28 and is fairly common. There is a similar five and twenty centimes.

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: 2,020,000.

Specification: copper-nickel.

Catalog reference: KM 18.

Source:

• Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.

Link to:

• 1887 50 centimes
• 1926 5 centimes
• 1929 franc, French legends
• 1929 frank, Dutch legends
• 1944 50 francs
• Coins and currency dated 1927