5 Francs – Belgian Congo

In 1936, the currency situation in the Belgian Congo was defined by its integration into the Belgian Franc Zone and the authority of the Banque du Congo Belge (BCB). Established in 1909, the BCB held the exclusive privilege of issuing the colony's currency, the Congolese franc, which was pegged at par with and fully convertible to the Belgian franc. This created a stable and predictable monetary environment, tightly controlled from Brussels and Leopoldville, which facilitated the extraction and export of the colony's vast natural resources—primarily copper, gold, and palm oil—by European concessionary companies.

The system was inherently dualistic, serving the modern export economy while largely excluding the indigenous population from its formal benefits. The majority of Congolese people engaged in subsistence agriculture or coerced labor and had little use for cash, except for paying the much-loathed head tax (impôt de capitation). This tax, payable only in Congolese francs, was a primary tool for forcing Africans into the wage-labor market to earn the currency needed to meet their colonial obligations, thereby supplying workers for mines and plantations.

The year 1936 fell within a period of relative stability for the currency itself, but the broader economic context was marked by the lingering effects of the Great Depression. While global commodity prices had begun to recover from their lowest points, the colony's economy was still oriented overwhelmingly toward external markets and Belgian profit. The monetary framework, therefore, was not designed for internal development but as a efficient conduit for colonial revenue, ensuring that the value generated in the Congo was securely anchored to and reinforced the financial system of the metropolitan power.