Catalog
1 Piastre - Saigon
| Issuer | Banque de l'Indo-Chine |
|---|---|
| Year | 1903-1921 |
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| Currency | Piastre (1880-1952) |
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| Obverse description | Central vignette in rose-red intaglio print presents an allegorical group: a seated Asian woman at left faces a standing classical female figure representing France, who holds a caduceus in her right hand. The bank title BANQUE DE L'INDO-CHINE is inscribed across the top panel, with the denomination UNE PIASTRE repeated twice in large letterpress type flanking the central text block of decree dates and emission authorization. The place name SAIGON appears in red at upper left, with serial number and series references at each corner, and the engravers' credits at the lower margin. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in rose-red on a cream ground and dominated by a large dragon vignette occupying the upper register, rendered in fine intaglio line work against a geometric guilloche background. The central field carries a substantial block of Chinese characters arranged in vertical columns, flanked on each side by the French-language counterfeit warning text set in letterpress. An ornate border of interlocking fretwork frames the entire composition, with the dollar sign $1 repeated at each corner. |
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| Comments |
The Banque de l'Indo-Chine held a monopoly on note issuance across French Indochina, renewed periodically by the colonial administration in Paris — a privilege that generated consistent political friction with both local commercial interests and metropolitan rivals. This 1 Piastre was the lowest denomination the bank produced in this format, used heavily in everyday colonial transactions where coin shortages were chronic.
Dupuis was one of the more technically accomplished medal engravers of his generation at the Paris Mint. Léveillé's intaglio work on this series is precise, particularly given the small format.