Catalog
100 Piastres
| Issuer | Banque de l'Indo-Chine |
|---|---|
| Year | 1925 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 100 Piastres (100 ICFP) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in reddish-brown and dominated by a large horizontal dragon vignette at centre amid clouds, set within a framework of Chinese wave-pattern guilloche borders and decorative meander cartouches. Four panels of Chinese calligraphic text are arranged around the central motif, with a "shou" longevity medallion below the dragon, and a French penal code warning in small letterpress text at lower centre. Designer and engraver credits appear in the lower corners. |
| Reverse lettering | 壹百元 奉本國特諭 東方滙理銀行 銀壹百元見字交銀 高綿 六省 h. Bellery-Desfontaines del. E. Gaspé SC. |
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| Comments |
The Banque de l'Indo-Chine's 100 Piastres series printed by the Banque de France represents one of the more technically accomplished colonial issues of the interwar period — Ruffe and Gaspérini were both staff engravers at the Banque de France whose work appeared across multiple sovereign and colonial issues simultaneously. Bellery-Desfontaines, primarily known as a poster and decorative arts illustrator, died in 1909, meaning his designs were adapted posthumously from earlier artwork rather than commissioned specifically for this note.
The piastre at this date was still pegged to the French franc at a fixed rate set in 1895 — a peg that would cause serious economic distortions when France devalued in the 1930s.