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10 Francs
| Issuer | Banque du Congo Belge |
|---|---|
| Year | 1941 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Central vignette of a uniformed officer inspecting a line of indigenous soldiers at right, rifles at shoulder, with thatched huts and trees in the background. A large circular guilloche underprint occupies the left field, incorporating a multicolour geometric star pattern in orange, violet, and yellow. The bank monogram cartouche appears centrally below the vignette, flanked by the denomination and payment clause, with the Star of the Belgian Congo at lower right. |
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| Protection type | Watermark |
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| Comments |
The Banque du Congo Belge's wartime notes present a complicated provenance. Belgium fell to Germany in May 1940, leaving the colonial banking apparatus in a peculiar position — technically an institution of an occupied nation, yet operating in territory the Axis never controlled. London-based printing through Waterlow & Sons was the practical solution, keeping note production out of German reach while Belgium itself had no functioning independent government to authorize it.
Waterlow at this period was handling colonial currency work for several displaced or compromised European administrations simultaneously. The P#14A watermark security was modest by the standards Waterlow applied to metropolitan currencies, reflecting wartime material constraints rather than any lapse in specification.