Catalog
100 Francs - Charlotte facing left
| Issuer | Banque Internationale à Luxembourg S.A. |
|---|---|
| Year | 1947 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Brown and orange intaglio print on blue guilloche underprint. At center, an oval crowned frame encloses a portrait of Grand-Duchess Charlotte facing left; farm vignettes flank the central portrait on both sides. The issuer name and denomination appear in the surrounding border. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Brown and orange intaglio print on blue guilloche underprint. A central vignette presents three steelworkers standing in full figure against an industrial backdrop of furnaces and heavy equipment; the denomination "CENT FRANCS" appears in the upper left and upper right corners, with the numeral "100" at lower left. The date and place of issue are inscribed along the lower border, with the designer's name "JULIEN LEFEVRE PINX." noted at the bottom left margin. |
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| Comments |
The Banque Internationale à Luxembourg — founded in 1856, making it the oldest bank still operating in the Grand Duchy — issued this note during a particularly awkward transitional moment. Luxembourg had entered the Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union in 1921, meaning Belgian francs circulated alongside native issues, and the BIL's own notes occupied an ambiguous but legally valid position in daily commerce throughout the postwar recovery.
Bradbury, Wilkinson produced the plate work in New Malden — their wartime capacity had been heavily committed to Allied currency and document security printing, and their postwar commercial ledger was crowded. The Lefevre credit almost certainly reflects an earlier design commission, with BW adapting or re-engraving for this 1947 run rather than starting from scratch.