Obverse (Image: Taku-Ashanti Gold Weight)
Reverse (Image: Denomination within mixed beans, grains and nuts)
The West African CFA franc is the currency of eight countries in West Africa: Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Guinea - Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo. The West African CFA (Communauté financière d'Afrique or "Financial Community of Africa") franc is equal to the Central African CFA franc, a currency used by six central African countries. The CFA franc was introduced to the French colonies in 1945 to replace the French West African franc. It is currently pegged to the Euro with 1 Euro equaling 655.597 CFA francs.
The obverse of the coin depicts a Taku-Ashanti gold weight. The Ashanti are a people from modern-day Ghana and the Ivory Coast. Around the 1400s, they started using these weights on scales to weigh gold dust that was used as currency. The gold weights were often symbolic of Ashanti proverbs and culture. More information can be found here: Ashanti Gold Weights. The reverse of the coins depicts representative foodstuff from the region: beans, grains and nuts.
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