50 Francs 1950, Belgian Congo
| in Krause book | Number: 16h |
| Years of issue: | 11.04.1950 |
| Edition: | |
| Signatures: | L'Administrateur-Delegue. DE Afgevaardigde-Beheerder: Guy Feyerick, Le Gouverneur. De Gouverneur: Paul Charles |
| Serie: | Banque du Congo Belge |
| Specimen of: | 1949 |
| Material: | Cotton fiber |
| Size (mm): | 156 x 92 |
| Printer: | American Bank Note Company, New-York |
* All pictures marked 
are increased partially by magnifying glass, the remaining open in full size by clicking on the image.
** The word "Specimen" is present only on some of electronic pictures, in accordance with banknote images publication rules of appropriate banks.
Description
Watermark:
Avers:
On the right, in profile - the woman from the Makele region (Belgian Congo, today - Democratic Republic of the Congo).
On right and left sider are the sugarcane.
Saccharum officinarum, sugarcane, is a large, strong-growing species of grass in the genus Saccharum. It originated in New Guinea, Muslims brought it to contemporary Spain (Andalusia, between Málaga and Motril) the only place in Europe where it grows. It arrived in the New World with the Spanish and is now cultivated in tropical and subtropical countries worldwide for the production of sugar and other products.
Saccharum officinarum, a perennial plant, grows in clumps consisting of a number of strong unbranched stems. A network of rhizomes forms under the soil which sends up secondary shoots near the parent plant. The stems vary in colour, being green, pinkish, or purple and can reach 5 m. (16 ft.) in height. They are jointed, nodes being present at the bases of the alternate leaves. The internodes contain a fibrous white pith immersed in sugary sap. The elongated, linear, green leaves have thick midribs and saw-toothed edges and grow to a length of about 30 to 60 cm. (12 to 24 in.) and width of 5 cm. (2.0 in.). The terminal inflorescence is a panicle up to 60 cm. (24 in.) long, a pinkish plume that is broadest at the base and tapering towards the top. The spikelets are borne on side branches and are about 3 mm. (0.12 in.) long and are concealed in tufts of long, silky hair. The fruits are dry and each one contains a single seed. Sugarcane harvest typically occurs before the plants flower, as the flowering process causes a reduction in sugar content. 
On top is the flag of Belgian Congo.
The heraldic history of the Congo begins on June 21, 1877. In September 1876, at the initiative of the King of Belgium Leopold II "to open Africa to civilization and abolish slave labor", the African International Association (AMA) was created. She chooses the blue flag with the golden star in the center as the emblem. The star symbolizes the hope that illuminates the African darkness. This flag was inspired by the king himself.
It was used by several researchers at the service of Leopold II. They raised it at their stations, which were installed on Congolese territory and this flag quickly became the sign of King Leopold II in central Africa.
Denominations in numerals are in all corners and centered. Centered in words.
Revers:
The African leopard (Panthera pardus pardus) is the leopard nominate subspecies native to many countries in Africa. It is widely distributed in most of sub-Saharan Africa, but the historical range has been fragmented in the course of habitat conversion. Leopards have been recorded in North Africa as well.
Leopards inhabited a wide range of habitats within Africa, from mountainous forests to grasslands and savannahs, excluding only extremely sandy desert. They are most at risk in areas of semi-desert, where scarce resources often result in conflict with nomadic farmers and their livestock.
Leopards used to occur in most of sub-Saharan Africa, occupying both rainforest and arid desert habitats. They were found in all habitats with annual rainfall above 50 mm. (2.0 in.), and can penetrate areas with less than this amount of rainfall along river courses. They range exceptionally up to 5,700 m. (18,700 ft.), have been sighted on high slopes of the Ruwenzori and Virunga volcanoes, and observed when drinking thermal water 37 °C (99 °F) in the Virunga National Park.
They appear to be successful at adapting to altered natural habitat and settled environments in the absence of intense persecution. There were many records of their presence near major cities. But already in the 1980s, they have become rare throughout much of West Africa. Now, they remain patchily distributed within historical limits.
Leopards are rare in northern Africa. A relict population persists in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco, in forest and mountain steppe in elevations of 300 to 2,500 m. (980 to 8,200 ft.), where the climate is temperate to cold.
In 2014, a leopard was killed in the Elba Protected Area in southeastern Egypt. This was the first sighting of a leopard in the country since the 1950s.
In 2016, a leopard was recorded for the first time in a semi-arid area of Yechilay in northern Ethiopia.
Denominations in numerals are on right and left sides. Centered (at the bottom) in words.
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