Catalog
1 Franc
| Issuer | Gouvernement Général de Madagascar et Dépendances |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
| Type | Emergency banknote |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | MADAGASCAR ET DÉPENDANCES 0F50 |
| Reverse description | Plain pale ground bearing a central vignette of a zebu bull in profile facing left, executed in a sparse intaglio-style line engraving characteristic of French colonial provisional issues. The design is minimal, with no additional inscriptions or border ornamentation visible. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Madagascar's Gouvernement Général issued these small-denomination franc notes in 1920 to address a chronic coin shortage that had plagued the island since the First World War disrupted metal supplies to French colonial territories. The notes were essentially a local emergency measure — metropolitan France had its own coin shortages to manage, and the colonies were largely left to improvise.
Pick 1C is part of a series that also includes 50 centimes and 2 franc values. Survival rates are low; these circulated hard in a cash-hungry economy and the paper held up poorly in Madagascar's humid climate.