Catalogue des billets de banque – Congo, Katanga, Rwanda, Burundi by François Morin

Catalogue des billets de banque: Congo, Katanga, Rwanda, Burundi by François Morin is a scarce specialist banknote reference published in Belgium in 1974. This 73-page paperback catalogue is devoted to the paper money issues of Congo, Katanga, Rwanda and Burundi, making it a particularly useful reference for collectors of African banknotes, Belgian colonial currency and the numismatic history of Central Africa.

Catalogue des billets de banque was compiled and published by François Morin in Boom, Belgium, during a period when specialist reference works on African paper money were still relatively limited. It covers a geographically and historically fascinating collecting area, including the Belgian Congo and the independent and transitional issues that followed decolonisation. Of particular interest is the inclusion of Katanga, whose brief period of independence from 1960 to 1963 produced a distinctive and highly collectable series of banknotes.

The work is bilingual in presentation, using French and Dutch, and was produced specifically for collectors and researchers of banknotes. Catalogue des billets de banque provides period information concerning the different currency issues and was intended to assist with identification, varieties and valuation.

Original specialist numismatic publications of this type are considerably scarcer today than general world banknote catalogues, particularly those devoted to Congo and Katanga. This example would make an excellent addition to a collection of African numismatic literature, a specialist paper-money library, or a broader collection concerned with Belgian colonial history and post-independence Central Africa.

Condition – Near Fine

Near fine paperback booklet with clean covers and a sound binding. Some discolouration is present to the endpaper. The contents remain clean and well preserved.