In 1482 the Portuguese Diego Cão discovered the estuary delta of the river Congo and thought he had found his aspired sea route to India. The assumption was legitimate as the delta is larger than 20 km. Only a second exploration journey three years later made clear that the Congo is not an ocean but a river. It is in fact an enormous river: 4'400 km long and up to 40 km wide. At the estuary, near the city Muanda, the river carries incredible 42'000 m3 water per second at annual mean. Therefore it is obvious that the Congo River represents the most important transport route through Central Africa.
The lighthouse of Muanda enables the shipping traffic to orientate while passing through the huge estuary delta. „The light shall guide your way“, is adequately embossed on the silver coin with an image of the tower. The colour application on the coin is fluorescent, which gives an amazing effect in the darkness and thus reproduces the cone of light from the lighthouse.
The lighthouse of Muanda enables the shipping traffic to orientate while passing through the huge estuary delta. „The light shall guide your way“, is adequately embossed on the silver coin with an image of the tower. The colour application on the coin is fluorescent, which gives an amazing effect in the darkness and thus reproduces the cone of light from the lighthouse.
