1 Franc

The Banque de la Martinique was established by imperial decree in 1853 as one of the four colonial banks created to serve France's overseas territories following abolition. Its early notes were printed in Paris by the Banque de France — an unusual arrangement that gave colonial paper a degree of technical credibility it might not otherwise have commanded in a market still adjusting to post-slavery wage economics.

P#5 is among the earliest surviving issues from the bank. Martinique's small monetary economy in this period meant circulation volumes were low, and attrition was high in the tropical climate. Paper survival from this decade is genuinely poor.