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100 Dollars / 100 Piastres
| Issuer | Banque de l'Indo-Chine |
|---|---|
| Year | 1879-1890 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Piastre (1880-1952) |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is printed entirely in Chinese characters on a light blue guilloche ground, with the denomination and issuing authority rendered in vertical columns of Chinese script. A central circular medallion is surrounded by ornate geometric and foliate border panels, with additional Chinese inscriptions in rectangular cartouches above and below the medallion. |
| Reverse lettering | 銀壹百元見字交銀 壹百元 嘉定 西貢 壹百元 奉本國特諭 東方滙理銀行 |
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| Comments |
Pick 23 is one of the earliest high-denomination issues from the Banque de l'Indo-Chine, established by imperial decree in 1875 with a mandate covering both Cochinchine and the broader French concession territories in Asia. The dual denomination — dollars and piastres printed together — reflects the monetary reality the bank actually faced: the Mexican silver dollar was the dominant trade coin across the region, and the piastre was initially pegged to it, making parallel labeling a practical necessity rather than a political statement.
Bramtot and Duval were both associated with the Paris fine arts establishment; their involvement signals that this note was produced by the Banque de France's printing apparatus or a comparable Parisian atelier. Robert's engraving work on this series is among the more technically ambitious colonial currency work of the period.
The 1879–1890 window spans the consolidation of French Indochina as a unified colonial administration — a process that was still incomplete when the first notes of this issue were signed.