BELGIAN CONGO. Congo Free State. 5 Francs, 1891. PCGS AU-50 Gold Shield.Dupriez 72, KM 8.1, Dav-10. The history of the Congo has long been unhappy. The region was claimed by Leopold III of Belgium in the 1880s as his private domain, ostensibly to end the slave trade which had long afflicted the area. Instead, he instituted a reign of terror as natives were massacred if they failed to yield their assigned quota of rubber and ivory. Finally, after a world outcry, the government of Belgium annexed the area in 1908 and ended the most abusive practices. This example has original red-brown toning and is virtually free of marks or hairlines, above average.From the Newmark Collection.
