Catalog
1 Franc
| Issuer | Gouvernement Général de l'Afrique Occidentale Française, Colonie du Sénégal |
|---|---|
| Year | 1917 |
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| Currency | Franc (1795-1945) |
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| Obverse description | The note is printed in red on cream paper with a decorative guilloche border running the full perimeter. At left, a circular coin vignette displays the legend LIBERTÉ·ÉGALITÉ·FRATERNITÉ with the denomination 1 FRANC; at right, a corresponding coin vignette bears the inscription RÉPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE with the Semeuse figure. The central field carries the large letterpress legend UN FRANC below the authority titles GOUVERNEMENT GÉNÉRAL DE L'AFRIQUE OCCIDENTALE FRANÇAISE and COLONIE DU SÉNÉGAL, with a series letter and serial number, and two manuscript signatures above the role designations Le Trésorier-Payeur and Le Lieutenant-Gouverneur. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in brown on cream paper with a matching decorative guilloche border. A large bold numeral '1f' occupies the centre, flanked by two columns of legal text in French. The upper register bears the heading EXTRAIT DU DÉCRET DU 11 FÉVRIER 1917 authorising the emission of bons de caisse in French West Africa, and the lower margin carries the legend CE BON DE CAISSE A COURS FORCÉ DANS TOUTE LA COLONIE, with the printer's imprint Gorée — Imp. Gouv't Génél at the foot. |
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| Comments |
French West Africa's colonial administration printed emergency fractional notes at Gorée in 1917 because the wartime metal shortage had stripped the region of small coinage — copper and nickel were being redirected to munitions production in France. The Imprimerie du Gouvernement Général on Gorée island was the only press available, and the results show it: these notes were produced under genuine logistical constraints, not as a planned currency reform.
Gorée-printed issues are notoriously prone to uneven ink strike and irregular watermark placement — artifacts of the press equipment rather than any later damage.