Congo, Democratic Republic of the: Coins Issued and Used

The Congolese Franc is the currency of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is subdivided into 100 centimes. However, centimes are of very low value and rarely used.

Currency denominated in centimes and francs (Dutch: Congolese frank) was first introduced in 1887 for use in the Congo Free State (1885-1908), which remained Congo's currency after independence until 1967, when the Zaïre was introduced. The Franc was re-established in 1997, replacing the New Zaïre at a rate of 1 Franc = 100,000 New Zaïres. This was equivalent to 300 trillion old francs.

Coins were never issued for circulation, as even fractional units of 1, 5, 10, 20 and 50 centimes were issued in banknote form only. However, the country has authorised some foreign mints to issue commemorative and bullion coins in Congolese Franc denominations.