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1000 Francs
| Issuer | Banque de la Martinique |
|---|---|
| Year | 1942 |
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| Composition | Paper |
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| Obverse description | Printed in blue on a fine guilloche underprint, the face carries two allegorical female figures seated at left and right within ornate vignettes, flanking a central serial number panel with signature lines for Le Directeur, Le Censeur, and Le Caissier. The bank title BANQUE DE LA MARTINIQUE and denomination MILLE FRANCS are boldly inscribed at top, with PAYABLES À VUE ET AU PORTEUR below. Corner quadrants repeat the numeral 1000 and series letter. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANQUE DE LA MARTINIQUE MILLE FRANCS PAYABLES À VUE ET AU PORTEUR 1000 LE DIRECTEUR LE CENSEUR LE CAISSIER (Translation: Bank of Martinique — Thousand Francs payable on demand to bearer — The Director — The Censor — The Cashier) |
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| Comments |
When France fell in 1940, Martinique found itself in a peculiar limbo — the island's administration aligned with Vichy, which left it effectively blockaded by the British and later the Americans. Normal supply lines, including the ability to import banknotes from metropolitan France, were severed. The Banque de la Martinique turned to E. A. Wright in Philadelphia, a press better known for engraved securities and high-end commercial stationery than for sovereign currency.
The blockade created chronic cash shortages throughout the island until the administration switched Allied allegiance in mid-1943. Notes from this 1942 printing circulated under genuine scarcity conditions.