Catalog
0,50 Franc
| Issuer | Gouvernement Général de Madagascar et Dépendances |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
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| Value | ½ Franc |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in reddish-brown tones and closely resembles a postage stamp vignette in the classic French colonial typographic style, with a central allegorical figure seated amid ornamental surrounds. The large numeral '50' (centimes) appears in the centre field, with the issuing authority inscription at the foot in two lines. The outer border carries a fine serrated or rouletted edge typical of stamp-format emergency currency issues. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in olive-brown tones and carries a central vignette of a standing dog rendered in a naturalistic engraved style, set against a plain lightly toned background. The composition is spare, with no additional inscriptions or ornamental borders framing the animal motif. This stamp-money reverse is characteristic of the wartime and post-war emergency fractional currency issues of the French colonial territories. |
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| Comments |
Madagascar's Gouvernement Général issued these small-denomination fractional notes in 1920 to address a chronic shortage of coin in circulation — a problem common across French colonial territories in the immediate postwar period, when metal was scarce and shipping schedules for coinage from the metropole were unreliable. The 50-centime note was essentially a necessity instrument, not a banking product.
Pick 1 is the first catalogued note for Madagascar, making it the foundation of the territory's paper money series. Surviving examples are not common; fractional emergency issues of this kind suffered heavy attrition through everyday handling and were rarely saved.