Catalog
1000 Francs
| Issuer | Banque de l'Indochine |
|---|---|
| Year | 1945 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1000 Francs |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Printed in blue on the base note of New Caledonia P-47b, with Angkor temple statues as a vignette at left. A red oval overprint inscribed NOUVELLES HÉBRIDES FRANCE LIBRE, incorporating a palm tree motif and the Cross of Lorraine, is applied at left to validate the note for New Hebrides Free France use. Denomination and issuing authority legends are rendered in intaglio. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | NOUMÉA 1000 Mille Francs 東方匯理銀行 (Translation: Noumea 1000 Thousand Francs Banque de l'Indochine [in Chinese]) |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Banque de l'Indochine's high-denomination wartime notes present a complicated printing history, and this one is no exception. By 1945, French Indochina had passed through Japanese occupation, the March 9 coup that dismantled the colonial administration overnight, and the chaos of the August Revolution — meaning notes printed in New York were often issued into a monetary environment that had already fractured beyond repair.
American Bank Note Company produced this series stateside precisely because French colonial printing infrastructure was either compromised or inaccessible during the war years. Distribution into the territory was patchy at best.