The 1000 francs of 2005 is a note on which Djibouti presents itself as a port nation. The whole back is given to the harbour: a ship and port cranes in the foreground, and behind them the port of Djibouti seen from the air.

The choice of subject is clear: its position on the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait leading into the Red Sea and the railway to Ethiopia made the harbour the country’s chief asset. The front bears the portrait of Ali Ahmed Oudoum, with a camel and workers with shovels mining sand at the centre.

The note was issued by the Central Bank of Djibouti, which replaced the National Bank as issuer in 2002. This example is the late variety P42b: the 2005 date on the note is unchanged, but the printing dates from 2021 and bears the signature of Ahmed Osman Ali, governor of the bank since 2013.

For a Djibouti collection this is the lowest denomination of the current range, and in a «ports and ships on banknotes» set it is one of the most expressive images of a seaport. UNC condition means the note has never circulated: no folds, no wear, no soiling, even corners — just as it left the press.

The VPcoins catalogue features banknotes from many countries, making it easy to build a collection by geography or by subject.