Catalog
100 Francs
| Issuer | Bank of Algeria - French Administration |
|---|---|
| Year | 1877 |
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| Value | 100 Francs |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in black intaglio on cream paper and carries the branch designation 'SUCCURSALE DE BÔNE' across the top in bold letterpress. The central text reads 'CENT FRANCS. PAYABLES A VUE AU PORTEUR' flanked by two standing allegorical male figures — one to each side — posed against ornate guilloche borders bearing the numeral 100 in each corner. Below the central inscription, a female head vignette appears at the foot, with bilingual Arabic and French manuscript-style text for the secretary, director, and cashier signature lines; the date 'ALGER, LE 9 AOUT 1877' and serial number appear above the central denomination. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is executed in black intaglio and centres on a large circular guilloche medallion enclosing a laureate female head in high-relief style, flanked by the bold numerals '100' on each side. Two allegorical figures occupy the lateral panels: a male figure to the left holding a staff and a female figure to the right bearing a spear, both seated on elaborate bases; the upper register carries a decorative frieze with radiating sunburst motifs at each corner. A rectangular cartouche at the foot of the central medallion bears the anti-counterfeiting legal warning text. |
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| Comments |
The Banque de l'Algérie was established in 1851 with a monopoly on note issue in the colony, operating under close supervision from Paris rather than functioning as a true central bank. By 1877, the bank was navigating a difficult stretch — the devastating phylloxera blight had begun destroying Algerian vineyards, which formed a core of the settler economy, and demand for credit in the territory was volatile.
Pick 27 is among the scarcer nineteenth-century French colonial issues. Paper deterioration is a known problem with this series; the combination of North African climate and heavy mercantile circulation was hard on cotton-substrate notes of this period.