Country / Region: Mali
Continent: Africa
Denomination: 10,000 Francs
Year: 1970
Grade: Uncirculated
Face Value (as at 2012.06.16): about USD9.63
Pick: 15
Figure (Obverse): Man in front of a Ceramic Factory at Djikoroni
Figure (Reverse): Man with weaver, and a woman with a coin headband

Story: This is one of those banknotes where we CANNOT determine its current value by referencing its face value. In 1984, Mali has readopted the CFA franc, at an exchange rate of 2 Malian francs = 1 CFA franc. Applying this rate on this huge banknote and we would arrive at something like USD9.45. However, this is one of the tougher finds in anybody’s collection. The sheer size of this banknote only contributes to the difficulty to retrieve an uncirculated version. Anthony with his amazing connection found the entire set for me some time in 2010, and would always stay as one of my top treasures.

Interesting Fact: Issued from 1970-1984, this is the part of a set of currency used under the dictatorship of Moussa Traoré, who served as the Head of State of Mali from 1968 to 1991.