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Obverse of 1992 Gabon 15,000 Francos
Obverse of 1992 Gabon 15,000 Francos

Countries
Reverse of 1992 Gabon 15,000 Francos
Reverse of 1992 Gabon 15,000 Francos

A Brief History of Gabon
Gabon is an African Republic which was once part of the French colony of French Equatorial Africa in western central Africa. The capital is Libreville.

Early History of Gabon
The name 'Gabon' is related to the Portuguese word 'Gabao' meaning 'cloak', due to the shape of the Komo River Estuary near Libreville, which looked like a cloak from the perspective of the Portuguese explorers who visited there in the late 15th Century. By the time European arrived in what is now Gabon, the area was largely populated by the Bantu, and area along the coast became a notorious centre for the slave trade until the 19th Century. The capital, Libreville, was founded by slaves who had been liberated by the French Navy and settled in what was then known as Baraka. Over the course of the 19th Century, France expanded its territorial interests by establishing protectorates over the tribes in Gabon and beyond, and by 1885, had laid claim to territory that included the whole of Gabon.

French Equatorial Africa
Between 1910 and 1958, Gabon was one of five territories of the French colonial federation of French Equatorial Africa, along with French Congo, Oubanui-Chari, Chad and French Cameroon. Following the defeat and occupation of France by Nazi Germany in May 1940, most of French Equatorial Africa rallied to the Free French cause. Gabon however, was the notable exception, and did not join the Free French until November 1940. Following end of the war, French Equatorial Africa was upgraded to the status of Overseas Territory and gained representation in the French Legislature.
In 1958, the constituent territories of French Equatorial Africa voted to become autonomous territories within the French Community. Gabon gained its independence from France in 1960.

Post-Independence
Although Gabon was now a sovereign independent republic, France maintained a garrison of troops to protect its interests. Leon M'ba, first Prime Minister, and then President of Gabon attempted to impose a one party state, leading to his overthrow in a military coup in 1964. However, France viewed M'ba as their man in Libreville, and French troops forcibly reinstated him the following day. Elections were held in April of that year confirming M'ba as president. M'ba's BDG party also won 31 of the 47 seats in the National Assembly. In 1967, the BDG party won all 47 seats, however, M'ba died shortly afterwards, and Omar Bongo, M'ba's vice-president, succeeded to the presidency. The following year, he declared Gabon to be a 1 party state and went on to become one of the world's longest serving leaders, ruling until his death in 2009.

Omar Bongo
During Omar Bongo's rule, he held many dubious 'elections' during which he claimed to have won as much as 99.9% of the popular vote. Not surprisingly, opposition parties (illegal at the time under Gabonese law) disputed these results, and rioting against Bongo's rule broke out on more than one occasion.
Bongo's rule was supported by France however, and they sometimes had to deploy troops to maintain his hold on power. This somewhat sleazy relationship between Gabon and its ex-ruling country went both ways, as Bongo was found to be involved in funding French Presidential election campaigns with the wealth he had appropriated from Gabon's abundant oil revenue.
During the 1990s, Bongo was forced to make some concessions to the opposition movement and other political parties were legalised. Omar Bongo maintained his grip on power, although the electoral majorities by which he won became less absurdly large. However, accusations of continued electoral fraud remained.
Omar Bongo died of a heart attack in 2009 during a visit to Spain. Omar Bongo's son, Ali Bongo won the subsequent presidential election with a claimed 42% of the popular vote.

Coinage of Gabon
Officially, the French Equatorial African franc was the currency of French Equatorial Africa (including Gabon) until 1945. Although this was pegged at par to the French franc and coins of the French franc generally circulated there (although brass 50 centime and 1 franc coins issued under the Free French government were struck for use in the colony in 1942. They were issued in bronze for the following year).
France devalued its own franc following the Second World War, introducing the Central African CFA franc along with other separate franc-based currencies to avoid a similar devaluation in France's overseas empire. As the theoretical centime sub denomination had already been rendered irrelevant at the time of its introduction, the 1 franc coin of the CFA franc is the lowest denomination ever issued in this currency. Coins of 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100 and 500 francs are also issued for circulation in Gabon and the other 5 members of the Central African CFA franc currency union.

For Sale and Wanted
If you are interested in coins from Gabon please see our product index:-
Gabonese Coins

Gold Coins
We also have gold coins from Gabon on our taxfreegold website:-
Gabonese Gold Coins


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