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1 Franc penal text in 4 lines on reverse
| Issuer | Trésorerie de Nouméa |
|---|---|
| Year | 1918-1919 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Printed in red-brown on cream paper, the obverse carries a vignette at left of a standing native figure in a canoe beneath tall palm trees, all within a decorative letterpress border with numeral '1' at each corner. The denomination 'Un Franc' is set in large bold type at centre, flanked by two manuscript signatures above the date 'Nouméa, le 13 Janvier 1919' at lower right. Issuing authority text and the decree date of 14 November 1918 are inscribed in the upper portion of the note. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | REPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE BON DE CAISSE L'ARTICLE 139 DU CODE PÉNAL PUNIT DES TRAVAUX FORCÉS À PERPÉTUITÉ CEUX QUI AURONT CONTREFAIT OU FALSIFIÉ CES BONS AINSI QUE CEUX QUI AURONT FAIT USAGE DE CES BONS CONTREFAITS OU FALSIFIÉS. Les Bons seront retirés de la circulation dans un délai de un an a courir de la cessation des hostilités. 1 Fr TRÉSOR (Translation: French Republic Cash Voucher Article 139 of the Penal Code punishes with forced labor in perpetuity those who have counterfeited or falsified these vouchers as well as those who have made use of these counterfeited or falsified vouchers. The Vouchers will be withdrawn from circulation within a period of one year from the cessation of hostilities. 1 Fr Treasury) |
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| Comments |
Trésorerie de Nouméa — the local treasury of New Caledonia — issued this emergency fractional note during the acute coin shortage that gripped French Pacific territories in the late war years. Metropolitan France had no capacity to supply subsidiary coinage to remote colonial outposts, and locally improvised paper filled the gap. These Nouméa treasury notes are among the more obscure French colonial emergency issues; most circulated hard in a small, isolated economy and few survived intact.
The four-line penal text on the reverse — threatening prosecution for counterfeiting — was a deliberate deterrent inserted by colonial authorities who had reason to worry about forgery even at this denomination.