Catalog
1000 Francs
| Issuer | Banque de l'Indochine |
|---|---|
| Year | 1941 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Multicolour note based on the New Caledonia P#43a, with a market scene in the background and at left, and a seated native woman at right. A red oval overprint at centre reads NOUVELLES HÉBRIDES FRANCE LIBRE, incorporating a palm tree motif and the Cross of Lorraine. The note bears a double hand-stamped ANNULE cancellation. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANQUE DE L`INDOCHINE MILLE FRANCS NOUMÉA L. JONAS FEC. G. BELTRAND SC. (Translation: Bank of Indochina Thousand Francs Noumea) |
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| Comments |
Banque de France took over production of this series after the fall of France made the usual commercial printers unavailable or impractical — the plate work by Beltrand is among the more accomplished intaglio engraving applied to any colonial note of the period. Jonas, primarily known as a war artist from 1914–18, contributed designs to several Banque de l'Indochine issues during the interwar years.
The 1941 date places this note in a particularly fraught administrative moment: Indochina was under the nominal authority of Vichy France while simultaneously occupied by Japanese forces, with the colonial financial apparatus trying to maintain functionality under both pressures. Notes of this issue were printed in France but faced the practical problem of actually reaching circulation in Southeast Asia given wartime shipping conditions.