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| Katanga banknotes 10 Francs note, Moise Tshombe |
Obverse: Portrait of Moise Tshombe (born Nov. 10, 1919, Musumba, Belgian Congo [now Democratic Republic of the Congo]—died June 29, 1969, Algiers, Algeria) - Congolese politician, president of the secessionist African state of Katanga, who took advantage of an armed mutiny to announce the secession of mineral-rich Katanga province in July 1960.
Reverse: National Assembly ("Bâtiment du 30 Juin"), Élisabethville (Lubumbashi) - capital of Katanga.
Katanga was a breakaway state proclaimed on 11 July 1960 separating itself from the newly independent Democratic Republic of the Congo. In revolt against the new government of Patrice Lumumba in July, Katanga declared independence under Moise Tshombe.
The Katangese franc was the currency of Katanga between 1960 and 1963 during the Congolese province's brief independence. It replaced the Congolese franc at par and was consequently initially equal to the Belgian franc. This established an exchange rate of 50 francs = 1 U.S. dollar. Just before Katanga was re-annexed by Congo, the exchange rate had fallen to 195 francs = 1 U.S. dollar. The currency was replaced at par by the Congolese franc.
In 1961, a provisional issue of notes was produced by the government. These were overprinted on notes of the Rwanda and Burundi franc in denominations of 5, 10, 20, and 50 francs. On 9 January 1961, regular notes dated 31.10.60 were issued by the Banque Nationale du Katanga in denominations of 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 francs. A second series of notes was also issued dated 1962 and 1963 in denominations of 100, 500, and 1000 francs.