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1 Franc
| Issuer | Trésor Colonial |
|---|---|
| Year | 1884 |
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| Currency | Franc (1795-2001) |
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| Obverse description | Plain typographic note on grey-blue paper, enclosed within a decorative guilloche border of repeating foliate scroll motifs. The text is entirely letterpress-printed in black, with the issuing authority 'ÎLE DE LA RÉUNION' and 'TRÉSOR COLONIAL' at the top, followed by the denomination 'UN FRANC' in large bold type at centre. The date 'Saint-Denis, le 4 juin 1884' appears below the denomination, with signature lines for 'Le Délégué du Directeur de l'Intérieur' and 'Le Trésorier-Payeur', and the guarantee legend 'La contre-valeur en espèces est déposée au Trésor' at the foot. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | ÎLE DE LA RÉUNION. TRÉSOR COLONIAL. (Décret du 2 mai 1879.) UN FRANC. Saint-Denis, le 4 juin 1884. Le Délégué du Directeur de l'Intérieur, Le Trésorier-Payeur, La contre-valeur en espèces est déposée au Trésor. |
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| Comments |
The Trésor Colonial issues of 1884 are among the earliest paper money produced specifically for French colonial territories in West Africa. The Trésor Colonial itself was not a bank but a treasury instrument — these notes were essentially government-backed warrants, designed to facilitate transactions where coin was scarce or impractical to transport.
Pick 6 is genuinely rare in any grade. The survival rate for low-denomination colonial treasury notes of this period is poor; they circulated hard in tropical conditions that destroy paper, and few were ever formally preserved.