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100 Francs - La Bourdonnais
| Issuer | Caisse Centrale de la France d'Outre-Mer |
|---|---|
| Year | 1947-1949 |
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| Designer(s) | William Fel |
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| Obverse description | Intaglio portrait of Bertrand-François Mahé de La Bourdonnais in period dress and powdered wig occupies the left portion, with a vignette of a coastal seascape and ship in the centre background. To the right, a two-figure allegorical group of a woman holding tropical fruit and a standing male figure is rendered in fine engraving, flanked by the denomination numeral '100' at each upper corner. The issuing authority 'CAISSE CENTRALE DE LA FRANCE D'OUTRE-MER' and denomination 'CENT FRANCS' are printed in red, with 'MARTINIQUE' repeated vertically in red on both lateral margins and at the foot of the note. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | MARTINIQUE CAISSE CENTRALE DE LA FRANCE D'OUTRE-MER CENT FRANCS MARTINIQUE Le Directeur Général LA BOURDONNAIS W. FEL FEC. R. ARMANELLI SC. (Translation: Martinique Central Fund of Overseas France Hundred Francs Martinique The Director General) |
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| Comments |
The Caisse Centrale de la France d'Outre-Mer was established in 1944 as the financial instrument of the Free French administration, issuing currency across a patchwork of colonial territories that each required their own overprints or distinct series. This 100 Francs note, printed at the Banque de France's own workshops in Paris, circulated across multiple territories depending on the controlling overprint — the same base design served Réunion, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and others, which complicates attribution of any given surviving example.
Armanelli and Régnier were both accomplished intaglio engravers on the Banque de France's permanent staff, and the quality of the work reflects that institutional standard rather than any commercial contract printer.