Catalog
100 Francs Dakar, overprint
| Issuer | Banque de l'Afrique Occidentale |
|---|---|
| Year | 1919 |
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| Reference(s) | P#3 |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANQUE DE L'AFRIQUE OCCIDENTALE CENT FRANCS PAYABLES EN ESPÈCES, A VUE, AU PORTEUR DANIEL DUPUIS ET GEORGES DUVAL FEC. A. LEVEILLE . CS. DAKAR |
| Reverse description | Two portrait medallions of allegorical female heads in exotic headdresses occupy the upper left and upper right corners within ornate guilloche frames. The central vignette presents a classical allegorical composition with three figures — a seated female figure at left, a standing draped female figure at centre, and a semi-draped male figure at right bearing a staff — rendered in fine intaglio engraving against a lightly toned background. |
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| Comments |
The Banque de l'Afrique Occidentale series to which this note belongs was printed well before 1919 — the overprint placing this specimen at Dakar was applied to existing stock rather than produced as a fresh issue. The BAO operated across French West Africa as a note-issuing colonial bank, with Dakar serving as its principal seat, and the place-name overprint was used to assign liability to a specific branch in ways that mattered legally to the bank's charter structure.
Dupuis was a celebrated medallist at the Paris Mint; his involvement explains the quality of the intaglio work. Léveillé's engraving on the face is characteristically fine-line, and Rousseau's reverse work reflects the BAO's house standard for the period.