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100 Francs - Marianne type 1943
| Issuer | Trésor Central (French Treasury) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1943 |
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| Engraver(s) | Edmund Dulac |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The central vignette presents an allegorical maritime and agricultural composition, grouping together a barrel, anchor, tied parcel, sack, jar, fish, and ears of corn — symbols of commerce and abundance transported by sea. The legal warning text against counterfeiting appears in smaller lettering beneath the central design, alongside the ordinance date and denomination numerals. |
| Reverse lettering | REPUBLIQUE FRANCAISE TRESOR CENTRAL ORD 2 OCT. 1943 100 | 100 L'article 139 du Code Pénal punit des travaux forcés ceux qui auront contrefait ou falsifié les billets de Banque autorisés par la Loi ainsi que ceux qui auront fait usage de ces billets contrefaits ou falsifiés. |
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| Comments |
Designed and engraved by Edmund Dulac — better known as an illustrator of gift books and postage stamps than a banknote artist — this note was produced by Bradbury Wilkinson in London for the Free French authorities as a liberation currency, intended to be introduced into France following the Allied landings. The Marianne figure Dulac chose was deliberately iconographic, a reassertion of republican identity against the Vichy regime's systematic suppression of that imagery.
De Gaulle's provisional government and the U.S. Treasury clashed bitterly over who would control currency issuance in liberated France — Washington had prepared its own Allied Military Currency for the purpose. The Trésor Central notes ultimately prevailed, but the political fight behind them was significant.