The franc

Franc

The franc is the name of several currency units, most notably the Swiss franc, still a major world currency today due to the prominence of Swiss financial institutions and the former currency of France, the French franc until the Euro was adopted in 1999...

(ISO 4217

ISO 4217

ISO 4217 is a standard published by the International Standards Organization, which delineates currency designators, country codes , and references to minor units in three tables:* Table A.1 – Current currency & funds code list...

 code is BIF) is the currency of Burundi

Burundi

Burundi , officially the Republic of Burundi , is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its capital is Bujumbura...

. It is nominally subdivided into 100 centimes, although coins have never been issued in centimes since Burundi began issuing its own currency. Only during the period when Burundi used the Belgian Congo franc

Congolese franc

The franc is the currency of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is subdivided into 100 centimes.-First franc, 1887-1967:During Belgian colonial rule, currency denominated in centimes and francs was issued for use in Congo. These francs were equal in value to the Belgian franc. From 1916, the...

 were centime coins issued.

History

The franc became the currency of Burundi in 1916, when Belgium occupied the former Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 colony and replaced the German East African rupie

German East African rupie

The Rupie was the currency of German East Africa between 1890 and 1916, continuing to circulate in the Tanganyika Territory until 1920.-History:...

 with the Belgian Congo franc

Congolese franc

The franc is the currency of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is subdivided into 100 centimes.-First franc, 1887-1967:During Belgian colonial rule, currency denominated in centimes and francs was issued for use in Congo. These francs were equal in value to the Belgian franc. From 1916, the...

. Burundi used the currency of Belgian Congo until 1960, when the Rwanda and Burundi franc

Rwanda and Burundi franc

The franc was a currency issued for the two Belgian Mandate Territories of Rwanda and Burundi between 1960 and 1964.- History :The franc became the currency of Rwanda and Burundi in 1916, when the two countries were occupied by Belgium and the Belgian Congo franc replaced the German East African...

 was introduced. Burundi began issuing its own francs in 1964.

There are plans to introduce a common currency, a new East African shilling, for the five member states of the East African Community

East African Community

The East African Community is an intergovernmental organisation comprising the five east African countries Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. Pierre Nkurunziza, the President of the Republic of Burundi, is the current Chairman of the East African Community. The EAC was originally...

 by the end of 2015.

Coins

In 1965, the Bank of the Kingdom of Burundi issued brass

Brass

Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin...

 1 franc coins. In 1968, Bank of the Republic of Burundi took over the issuance of coins and introduced aluminum 1 and 5 francs and cupro-nickel 10 francs. The 5 and 10 francs have continuous milled

Milled coinage

In numismatics, the term milled coinage is used to describe coins which are produced by some form of machine, rather than by manually hammering coin blanks between two dies or casting coins from dies.-History:The earliest machine known for producing coins is the screw press, invented by Leonardo...

edges. Second types of the 1 and 5 franc coins were introduced in 1976, featuring the coat of arms.

Banknotes

In 1964, notes of the Bank of Emission of Rwanda and Burundi, in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1,000 francs, were overprinted with the word "Burundi" for use in the country. These were followed in 1964 and 1965 by regular issues in the same denominations by the Bank of the Kingdom of Burundi.

In 1966, notes for 20 francs and above were overprinted by the Bank of the Republic of Burundi, replacing the word "Kingdom" with "Republic". Regular issues of this bank began in denominations of 10, 20, 50, 100, 500, 1,000 and 5,000 francs. 10 francs were replaced by coins in 1968. 2,000 franc notes were introduced in 2001, followed by 10,000 francs in 2004. Photographer Kelly Fajack's image of school kids in Burundi was used on the back of the Burundian 10,000 franc note.

Image		Value	Dimensions	Main Colour	Description		Date of
Obverse	Reverse				Obverse	Reverse	printing	issue	withdrawal	lapse
		10 Franc		green	Burundi Map
		20 Franc

Historical exchange rates

On 3 January 2006, the franc was valued at 925 per $1. On January 1, 2008, the franc was valued at 1,129.40 per US dollar. On January 1, 2009, the franc was valued at 1,234.33 per U.S. dollar.