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Currency history

CFA franc (BCEAO)

CFA franc: a currency still in use.

Dates in use
Still in use; introduction date not established here
Currency code
XOF
Ancestry branch
French franc

Its place in the family

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Select a name for its history or a dated connection for its evidence.

CFA franc (BCEAO): documented and qualified family connections PREDECESSORS THIS CURRENCY SUCCESSORS Guinea-Bissau pesoGuinea-Bissau peso 1997-05-02 · DocumentedLater contribution or absorptionGuinea-Bissau exchanges pesos for CFADocumented connection · 1997-05-02 · Guinea-Bissau exchanges pesos for CFA francs. Currency changeover is separate from union accession. French franc — 1795 to euro conversionFrench franc 1945 · DocumentedDocumented connection · 1945 Guinean franc, first unitGuinean franc, first unit 1960-03-01 · DocumentedGuinea leaves CFA currency for its ownfranc. Documented connection · 1960-03-01 · Guinea leaves CFA currency for its own franc. Malian francMalian franc 1962-07-01 · DocumentedMali introduces its own franc. Documented connection · 1962-07-01 · Mali introduces its own franc. Mauritanian ouguiyaMauritanian ouguiya 1973-06-29 · DocumentedMauritania introduces the ouguiya.Effective date per Bundesbank; earlierDocumented connection · 1973-06-29 · Mauritania introduces the ouguiya. Effective date per Bundesbank; earlier political decisions should be separate events. CFA franc (BCEAO)CFA franc XOF

The story

The BCAO dates the common CFA framework to 26 December 1945. This is an ancestral framework anchor, not a claim that today's western and central issuing zones were already identical to their later form. [1]

Western CFA devaluation takes effect. Decision on 11 January; not a new CFA unit. [2]

Turning points

Regional institutional continuity

The western CFA branch develops under BCAO. 1959 is an institutional marker, not a fresh redenomination or first CFA coinage. [3]

Territorial readoption

Mali returns to CFA currency. Territorial return to an existing currency, not creation of XOF from the Malian franc. [4]

Territorial adoption

Guinea-Bissau exchanges pesos for CFA francs. Currency changeover is separate from union accession. [5]

Peg

Western CFA euro anchor. [6]

Changing monetary anchors

Euro — converging national replacements · 1 January 1999 · euro anchor introduced
655.957 XOF per EUR. Terms and evidence ↗

Sources and evidence

  1. BCEAO · Histoire du Franc CFA C532 ↗
  2. BCEAO · Histoire du Franc CFA; BCEAO · BCEAO — Chronologie des événements marquants C752 ↗
  3. BCEAO · Histoire du Franc CFA; BCEAO · BCEAO — Présentation du musée de la monnaie C750 ↗
  4. BCEAO · BCEAO — Chronologie des événements marquants; AFRISTAT · AFRISTAT — Price statistics methodological publication; Deutsche Bundesbank · Metadata on the Exchange Rate Statistics, 24 September 2025 C761 ↗
  5. Deutsche Bundesbank · Metadata on the Exchange Rate Statistics, 24 September 2025 C764 ↗
  6. BCEAO · Histoire du Franc CFA; French Treasury · French Treasury — La Zone franc de 1939 à aujourd’hui C754 ↗

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Cite this page

“CFA franc (BCEAO).” The Family Tree of Money. © Field Technologies, Inc. Reader edition 2026-10-13; research dataset v44. https://familytreeofmoney.org/currency/FTM000263.html

Editorial evidence supplement · Download dataset v44

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