➧

West African States

West African States is an economic union formed in 1962, and consists of Benin, Mali, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Togo, Niger, and Guinea-Bissau. W.A.S. banknotes are issued by Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest.

Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest

1958-1959 ND Issues

General issues for all states with no branch code. For similar notes issued by Institut d'Emission de l'A.O.F. et du Togo, see French West Africa.

B102a face
B102a face
B102a (
  • LK212
  • P-2a
) 100 Francs Woman with Braids
  • Printer: BdF
  • 4/23/1959
  • Intaglio
  • Sig 1

  • Watermark: Woman


  • Baudier SC
    • (B)
B102b face
B102b face
B102b (
  • LK219
  • P-2b
) 100 Francs Woman with Braids
  • ND (1966)
  • Sig 5
  • Penal Code: Penal code changed from L'ARTICLE 139... to LES AUTEURS...

1959-1965 ND Issues

Since 1959, all notes have a branch code showing which country they were issued for.

B106Kb face
B106Kb face
B106Kb (
  • LK214K
  • P-701Kb
) 100 Francs African Woman and Village
  • Printer: BdF
  • 3/20/1961
  • Intaglio
  • Sig 2

  • Watermark: Young girl

  • Baudier SC
    • (B)
B106Kf face
B106Kf face
B106Kf (
  • LK218K
  • P-701Kf
) 100 Francs African Woman and Village
  • ND (1965)
  • Litho
  • Sig 4
B107Km face
B107Km face
B107Km (
  • LK232K
  • P-702Km
) 500 Francs Traditional and Modern Agriculture
  • Printer: BdF
  • ND (1959-65)
  • Litho
  • Sig 11

  • Watermark: Young girl in profile
B108Am face
B108Am face
B108Am (
  • LK236A
  • P-103Am
) 1000 Francs West African Couple
Rope Bridge
  • Printer: BdF
  • ND (1959-65)
  • Litho
  • Sig 13

  • Watermark: Young man

  • Baudier SC
    • (B)
B108Atr face
B108Atr (
  • P-103Atr
) 1000 Francs West African Couple
  • Intaglio Printer's Waste
B109Ah face
B109Ah face
B109Ah (
  • LK256A
  • P-104Ah
) 5000 Francs Modern and Traditional Palm Oil Manufacturing
  • Printer: BdF
  • ND (1961-65)
  • Sig 9

  • Watermark: Young girl in profile

1977-1981 ND Issues

Since 1981, FCO has printed the 500fr, 1000fr and 2500fr denominated notes, while BdF has printed the 5000fr and 10,000fr notes.

B110Aa face
B110Aa face
B110Aa (
  • LK259A
  • P-105Aa
) 500 Francs Zebus
  • Printer: BdF
  • 1979
  • Sig 13
  • Red denomination and text at top, small serial number font

  • Watermark: Woman in profile

B111Df face
B111Df face
B111Df (
  • LK272D
  • P-405Df
) 500 Francs Man with Hat, Zebus
  • Printer: FCO
  • 1988
  • Sig 12
  • Green denomination and text at top

  • Watermark: Woman in profile

B111Kb2 face
B111Kb2 face
B111Kb2 (
  • P-706Kc
) 500 Francs Man with Hat, Zebus
  • Printer: FCO
  • 1981
  • Sig 15
  • Green denomination and text at top
  • Error, first 3 digits of s/n stuck on "0"; Block B.7-Q.8, W.9, R.8-C.10

  • Watermark: Woman in profile

B111Kd (
  • P-706Kd
) 500 Francs Man with Hat, Zebus
  • Printer: BdF
  • 1982
  • Sig 17
  • 10-digit s/n; Block O.4
B111Ke face
B111Ke face
B111Ke (
  • P-706Kf
) 500 Francs Man with Hat, Zebus
  • Printer: BdF
  • 1983
  • Sig 17
  • Block W.4
B111Kf face
B111Kf face
B111Kf (
  • P-706Kg
) 500 Francs Man with Hat, Zebus
  • Printer: FCO
  • 1984
  • Sig 19
  • K.11, L.11
B111Kg face
B111Kg face
B111Kg (
  • P-706Kh
) 500 Francs Man with Hat, Zebus
  • Printer: FCO
  • 1985
  • Sig 19
  • Block H.13-N.13
B111Kh face
B111Kh face
B111Kh (
  • P-706Ki
) 500 Francs Man with Hat, Zebus
  • Printer: FCO
  • 1986
  • Sig 20
B111Kj (
  • P-706Ka
) 500 Francs Man with Hat, Zebus
  • Printer: FCO
  • 1988
  • Sig 12
  • Block Q.18-U.19
B111Kk face
B111Kk face
B111Kk (
  • P-706Kk
) 500 Francs Man with Hat, Zebus
  • Printer: FCO
  • 1989
  • Sig 21
  • Reversed position of signatures and titles; Block S.20-O.21
B111Kl 500 Francs Man with Hat, Zebus
  • Printer: FCO
  • 1990
  • Sig 22
  • Block T.22
B112Df face
B112Df face
B112Df (
  • LK283D
  • P-406Da
) 1000 Francs Phosphate Mine
  • Printer: FCO
  • 1988
  • Sig 12

  • Watermark: Woman in profile

B113Dg face
B113Dg face
B113Dg (
  • LK301D
  • P-407Da
) 5000 Francs Traditional and Modern Fishing
  • Printer: BdF
  • 1988
  • Sig 12

  • Watermark: Woman in profile

B114Ab face
B114Ab face
B114Ab (
  • LK309A
  • P-109Ad
) 10,000 Francs Traditional and Modern Weaving
  • Printer: BdF
  • ND (1977-92)
  • Sig 12

  • Watermark: Woman in profile

  • Poilliot, G. SC
    • (B)

1991-2003 Issues

The first two digits of the serial number are the year of issue of the note for this and the next series.

B115Ab face
B115Ab face
B115Ab (
  • P-110Ab
) 500 Francs Hydroelectric Dam and Tractor. See Specialized Collection of this note
  • Printer: FCO
  • 2002
  • 140 x 80mm
  • Sig 31

  • Microprint: Countries of the West Arican States
  • Watermark: Farmer's head
B116Dc face
B116Dc face
B116Dc (
  • LK337D
  • P-411Dc
) 1000 Francs
Young Woman, Storage of Groundnut; Women Carrying Baskets
  • Printer: FCO
  • 1993
  • 150 x 80mm
  • Sig 25

  • Microprint
  • UV
  • Watermark: Draped woman's head
B117Dc face
B117Dc face
B117Dc (
  • LK347D
  • P-412Dc
) 2500 Francs
Woman, Hydroelectric Dam; Spraying Trees
  • Printer: FCO
  • 1994
  • 155 x 80mm
  • Sig 27

  • Microprint
  • UV
  • Watermark: Native woman
B118Bl face
B118Bl face
B118Bl (
  • LK355Bbis(4)
  • P-213Bl
) 5000 Francs
Uranium Factory; Market Scene
  • Printer: BdF
  • 2002
  • 163 x 80mm
  • Sig 31

  • Microprint
  • UV
  • Watermark: Native woman
B119Aa face
B119Aa face
B119Aa (
  • LK356A
  • P-114Aa
) 10,000 Francs
BCEAO Tower; Woman and Rope Bridge
  • Printer: BdF
  • 1992
  • 170 x 80mm
  • Sig 25

  • Microprint
  • UV
  • Watermark: Native man

2003- Issues

B120Tb face
B120Tb face
B120Tb (
  • P-819Tb
) 500 Francs Hippopotamus
  • Printer: FCO
  • 2013
  • Sig 40

  • Omron
  • Thread
  • Watermark: Sawfish/500
B121Db face
B121Db face
B121Db (
  • P-415Db
) 1000 Francs Health & Education
  • Printer: FCO
  • 2004
  • Sig 32

  • Microprint
  • Omron
  • Thread
  • UV
  • Watermark: Sawfish/1000
B122Db face
B122Db face
B122Db (
  • P-416Db
) 2000 Francs Transportation
  • Printer: FCO
  • 2004
  • Sig 32

  • Microprint
  • Omron
  • Thread
  • UV
  • Watermark: Sawfish/2000
B123Aa face
B123Aa face
B123Aa (
  • P-117Aa
) 5000 Francs Agriculture
  • Printer: FCO
  • 2003
  • Sig 32

  • Omron
  • Thread
  • UV
  • Watermark: Sawfish/5000
B124Kh face
B124Kh face
B124Kh (
  • P-718Kg
) 10,000 Francs Telecommunications
  • Printer: FCO
  • 2009
  • Sig 35

  • Omron
  • Thread
  • Watermark: Sawfish/10000

Last update:

Web site, content and images © Dave Mills