Burundi 500 Francs 1999 P38b UNC

500 Burundian Franc banknote, dated 1999 and issued by the Bank of the Republic of Burundi. Pick 38b, uncirculated.

The Burundian franc has been the legal tender of Burundi since the country's independence in 1962, and over the decades has maintained medium denominations such as this 500 franc note. Burundi, a landlocked country in the African Great Lakes region, experienced a period of strong political and economic instability in the late 1990s marked by the conflict between Hutus and Tutsis, a context in which this banknote was issued.

Burundian banknotes from the late 20th century are relatively rare in the European collector's market, so an uncirculated specimen like this will be of particular interest to those who collect African emissions from this era.