Belgian Congo silver 5 Francs, 1887. King Leopold II of Belgium owned the Belgian Congo as his personal territory. There was no attempt to rule democratically/fairly. This was probably the most egregious example of selfish colonialism in all of the African colonies. Leopold was forced, by world opinion, to cede the colony to the Belgian government in 1908, who actually did a decent job in eradicating disease, educating the populace and bringing in modern railroads & ports. BU. Rare.