BELGIAN CONGO

The Belgian Congo, is today called the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and previous to being the Belgian Congo, the country was called the Congo Free State. The Belgian Congo excisted as a country from 1908 to 1960, when it gained independence to be called the Republic of Congo (leopoldville) and then Zaire. French Congo became the Republic of Congo (brazzaville) and then the Peoples Republic of Congo.

Monetary units: 1 franc = 100 Centimes (up to 1967)

This country was on my "to get" list and , although I've had it for a while, I had mis- classified it under Rwanda. It is a 1957, 10 Franc note and has a soldier on the front left and an antelope on the back.

so I can strike that one off the list !!!

Zaire

The Republic of Zaire, now called the democratic republic of the Congo. Its capital was Kinshasa.  The Republic of Congo was formed from the colonial country of Belgian Congo after gaining independence in 1960 (the former French colony chose the same name for its independent country so they were known by their respective capital cities - this one called Congo-Leopoldville and the French one - Congo Brazzaville) In 1964 It was renamed The Democratic Republic of the Congo and then again in 1971 to The Republic of Zaire. Following Independence the provinces of Katanga and South Kasai tried to secede which led to a bitter war. In 1997, after an armed invasion from forces of the Ugandan army and the Rwandan Hutu's overthrew the government and it reverted to The Democratic Republic of the Congo

Monetary Units:

1 Franc = 100 Centimes up to 1967
1 Zaire = 100 Makuta 1967-1993
1 Nouveaux Zaire = 100 Nouveaux Makuta = 3 million old Zaires 1993- 1998

The notes above are;

The 50 Nouveaux Zaire note from 1993 with Joseph Mobutu on the front and a hydroelectric dam on the reverse.

The 5 Nouveaux Zaire note from 1993 again with Mobutu on the front and The Independence monument on the reverse.

CONGO DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC

The Congo Democratic Republic, formerly Zaire was a Belgian colony (the Belgian Congo) until 1960 when it gained independence. 1997 saw a coup which overthrew the Mobutu regime and change the name of the country to its present name. in 2002, the Pretoria Accord ended decades of civil war.  The capital city is Kinshasa.

The monetary system was:

1 Franc = 100 centimes ( up to 1967)
1 Zaire + 100 Makuta  (1967 - 71)
1 Franc = 100 centimes ( 1997 onward )

The note above is the 50 centime note from 1997 with okapi on both sides of the note.