Catalog
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| Issuer | Banque du Congo Belge |
|---|---|
| Year | 1937 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Franc (1887-1960) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A pair of waterbuck antelopes dominates the foreground of the central vignette, rendered in detailed intaglio against an open savanna landscape with acacia trees and additional antelope visible in the middle distance. The denomination TIEN FRANK appears in bold lettering at the top centre, with a blank oval reserve at the left. Decorative guilloche borders and bank monogram medallions in relief frame the design on both sides. |
| Reverse lettering | BANK VAN BELGISCH CONGO TIEN FRANK BETAALBAAR OP ZICHT De Ste Beheerder De Voorzitter DE NAMAKER WORDT DOOR DE WET MET DWANGARBEID GESTRAFT A. HALLET FEC. E. HORVATH SC. |
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| Comments |
Waterlow & Sons printed this note at a time when their security printing operation was still rebuilding its commercial reputation following the Artur Virgílio Alves Reis Portuguese banknote scandal of 1925, in which forged Banco de Portugal notes had been produced using a genuine Waterlow contract. The Banque du Congo Belge continued to use them regardless — Waterlow remained technically capable despite the reputational damage.
André Hallet was a Belgian painter who spent years in the Congo and is better known for his ethnographic canvases than for banknote design work. His involvement here is unusual. The engraving was executed by Endre Horváth, a Hungarian-born engraver who worked extensively for Waterlow during this period.