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100 Francs 1964, Republic of Congo

in Krause book Number: 6a
Years of issue: 01.08.1964
Edition:
Signatures: Le Gouverneur: Albert Ndela Mbamu
Serie: 1962 Issue
Specimen of: 01.09.1961
Material: Cotton fiber
Size (mm): 149 x 70
Printer: TDLR (Thomas de la Rue & Company), London

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100 Francs 1964

Description

Watermark:

watermark

Pattern on paper.

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100 Francs 1964

Joseph Kasa-Vubu

Joseph Kasa-Vubu, alternatively Joseph Kasavubu, (c. 1915 – 24 March 1969) was a Congolese politician who served as the first President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then Republic of the Congo) from 1960 until 1965.

A member of the Kongo ethnic group, Kasa-Vubu became the leader of the Alliance des Bakongo (ABAKO) party in the 1950s and soon became a leading proponent of Congo's independence from Belgian colonial rule. He then became the country's first president in a coalition with Patrice Lumumba as prime minister. Less than a week after the country's independence in 1960, their government was confronted by the Congo Crisis, a series of secession movements and rebellions. During this time, Kasa-Vubu, a centrist clashed with the leftist Lumumba when the latter ordered assistance from the Soviet Union, leading to a political deadlock. Kasa-Vubu then dissolved Lumumba's government, accusing it of having communist sympathies. Following Lumumba's execution in 1961, Kasa-Vubu presided over a series of weak governments while confronting subsequent rebellions by Lumumba's supporters. In 1965, he was overthrown in another coup by Joseph-Désiré Mobutu and died four years later.

Balearica regulorum

The grey crowned cranes.

The grey crowned crane (Balearica regulorum), also known as the African crowned crane, golden crested crane, golden-crowned crane, East African crane, East African crowned crane, African Crane, Eastern crowned crane, Kavirondo Crane, South African crane, Crested crane, is a bird in the crane family, Gruidae. It is found in eastern and southern Africa, and is the national bird of Uganda.

The grey crowned crane is about 1 m. tall, weighs 3.5 kg., and has a wingspan of 2 m. Its body plumage is mainly grey. The wings are predominantly white, but contain feathers with a range of colours, with a distinctive black patch at the very top. The head has a crown of stiff golden feathers. The sides of the face are white, and there is a bright red inflatable throat pouch. The bill is relatively short and grey, and the legs are black. They have long legs for wading through the grasses. The feet are large, yet slender, adapted for balance rather than defence or grasping. The sexes are similar, although males tend to be slightly larger. Young birds are greyer than adults, with a feathered buff face.

This species and the black-crowned crane are the only cranes that can roost in trees, because of a long hind toe that can grasp branches. This trait is assumed to be an ancestral trait among the cranes, which has been lost in the other subfamily. Crowned cranes also lack a coiled trachea and have loose plumage compared to the other cranes.

Mambassa bridge

Centered, at the bottom is Mombassa bridge.

Bailey multi-span bridge, across the Ituri River, about 78 km. from the city of Bunia, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The design, 124 meters long, has been in use since 1949. The project was managed by MONUC (United Nations Mission in the Congo) and funded by the British government. The bridge shortens the 400 km journey for merchants. (www.mabeybridge.com)

Revers:

100 Francs 1964

Palais de la NationPalais de la Nation

The Palais de la Nation (French; Palace of the Nation) is a building in Gombe, Kinshasa, which since 2001 serves as the official residence of the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The palais was built in 1956 to a design by Marcel Lambrichs, as the official residence of the colonial Governor-General. It is located in the north of Kinshasa, on the banks of the Congo River.

After Congolese independence from Belgium in 1960, the Palais became a symbol of the new state. The official ceremonies surrounding independence, including King Baudoin's Proclamation, declaring the Congo's independence and Patrice Lumumba's speech denouncing colonialism, took place in the palais on 30 June. It briefly served as the seat of the Congolese parliament, now based in the Palais du Peuple, after independence.

Following the restoration of the Congo after the fall of Mobutu Sese Seko, the mausoleum of Laurent-Désiré Kabila was built in front of the palace.

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