Catalog
1 Franc
| Issuer | Régence de Tunis |
|---|---|
| Year | 1918 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Franc tunisien (1891-1958) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | RÉGENCE DE TUNIS UN FRANC فرنك واحد Série 030 No 17899 Decret du 30 Septembre 1918 25 Hijja 1336 الأمر العلي المؤرخ في 30 سبتمبر 1918 في 25 حجة 1336 Le Trésorier Général de Tunisie : Le Directeur Général des Finances : VALEUR ÉCHANGEABLE CONTRE DES BILLETS DE LA BANQUE DE L'ALGÉRIE هاهذه النذكرة قابلة للمبادلة بنذاكر البانكة الجزائرية LE CONTREFACTEUR EST PUNI DES TRAVAUX FORCÉS À PERPÉTUITÉ المدلس يعاقب بالإشغال الشاقة على الأبد PROTECTORAT FRANÇAIS LITHO & GRAVURE P. WEBER IMP. YVORRA, BARLIER & CLAVE TUNIS |
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| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Circular official stamp of the Régence de Tunis applied in black ink to the reverse, bearing a central coat of arms vignette |
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| Comments |
Tunisia's Direction Générale des Finances stepped in as a note-issuing authority during WWI because the French Protectorate's normal banking supply chains had collapsed under wartime pressure. Small denominations were the acute problem — coins had effectively vanished from circulation, hoarded or melted, and the Banque de l'Algérie could not fill the gap quickly enough.
The entirely local production — lithography and letterpress both handled within Tunis by two separate firms — was unusual for colonial French-administered territory, where metropolitan printing was strongly preferred. The official stamp substituted for more sophisticated security, a common workaround when intaglio printing capacity was unavailable.