Catalog
1 Dollar / 1 Piastre - Saigon
| Issuer | Banque de l'Indo-Chine |
|---|---|
| Year | 1900-1903 |
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| Value | 1 Dollar = 1 Piastre (1 ICFP) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANQUE DE L'INDO-CHINE SAÏGON DÉCRETS DU 21 JANVIER 1875 ET DU 20 FÉVRIER 1888 EMISSION AUTORISÉE LE 3 AOÛT 1891 ONE DOLLAR TO BE PAID ON DEMAND TO BEARER UN ADMINISTRATEUR : UNE PIASTRE PAYABLE EN ESPÈCES AU PORTEUR LE DIRECTEUR : DANIEL DUPUIS ET GEORGES DUVAL FEC. A LEVEILLE SC |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | $1 $1 BANQUE DE L'INDO-CHINE 東 方 滙 理 銀 行 銀 壹 元 正 奉 本 國 特 諭 L'ARTICLE 139 DU CODE PENAL PUNIT DES TRAVAUX FORCES A PERPE-TUITE CEUX QUI AURONT CONTREFAIT OU FALSIFIE LES BILLETS DE BANQUES AUTORISEES PAR LA LOI, AINSI QUE CEUX QUI AURONT FAIT USAGE DE CES BILLETS CONTREFAITS OU FALSIFIÉS. 富 $1 $1 DANIEL DUPUIS ET GEORGES DUVAL FEC. |
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| Comments |
The Banque de l'Indo-Chine was a private Parisian institution operating under a government concession, not a colonial treasury — a distinction that mattered considerably when disputes arose over note acceptance in the interior. This particular series, denominated in both dollars and piastres to serve the dual commercial vocabularies of Cochinchina and the wider regional trade network, was engraved by Auguste-Hilaire Léveillé, one of the principal engravers at the Imprimerie nationale in Paris, working from designs credited to Duval and the medallist Dupuis.
Dupuis's involvement is the genuinely interesting detail here. Jean-Baptiste-Daniel Dupuis was primarily a sculptor and medal-maker of considerable reputation, and his contributions to banknote design were relatively few — his name on a note is not routine.