FRANCE, Colonial. Madagascar, 1896-1960. 25 Centimes (Aluminum, 22 mm, 0.78 g, 12 h), Mines de l'Andavakoëra token, no date (1920). Head of a Macaw parrot to left. Rev. SOCIÉTÉ DES MINES D'OR / 25 C. / •DE L'ANDAVAKOËRA•. Lecompte 83-85. Some scratches and deposits, otherwise, good very fine.



The Société des Mines d'Or de l'Andavakoëra ranked among the leading private gold-mining enterprises in colonial Madagascar during the early twentieth century. It was founded through the efforts of the French prospector and entrepreneur Alphonse Mortages, who had begun opening up the gold fields as early as 1905. In the prosperous years before the outbreak of World War I, the mines yielded more than a ton of gold per year and employed as many as 5,000 Malagasy laborers at their peak.