1000 Francs

The Banque de l'Afrique Occidentale held a unique quasi-governmental status — a private institution operating under a colonial concession that granted it sole right of issue across French West Africa and French Equatorial Africa. This 1000-franc note circulated through a monetary zone encompassing territories from Senegal to Chad, yet was printed entirely in Paris under Banque de France supervision, a arrangement that kept physical control of the currency firmly in metropolitan hands.

The engraving credits are unusually well-documented for a colonial issue. Beltrand and Piel handled the obverse intaglio work; Marguerite Dreyfus — who signed professionally as Rita — contributed to the reverse alongside Clément. Rita's name appearing in the plate margin of a high-denomination colonial note is a genuine rarity for the period.