10 Francs French Somaliland

This 10 Francs coin from French Somaliland sports a dromedary on its reverse, a practical choice for a territory where camels were more reliable than cars.

Minted in nickel at the Paris Mint between 1952 and 1975, it served as currency in a French colony on the brink of independence. The obverse bears the familiar French Republic inscription, linking metropolitan France to its distant outpost. We don't know the exact mintage figures; records from that era are spotty.

One oddity: despite its utilitarian design, the coin's edge is reeded, which might have deterred casual clipping in a cash-strapped region. Collectors sometimes overlook it for flashier issues, but that's their loss.