1000 Francs Guadeloupe et Martinique polymer

The Banque de Guadeloupe et de Martinique is not a central bank in any conventional sense — it is a private initiative, and this note has no legal tender status in either territory. Both Guadeloupe and Martinique are French overseas departments, meaning the euro is the official currency and has been since 2002. Notes like this one occupy a peculiar legal grey zone: not counterfeit in the traditional sense, but not authorised currency either. Collectors should be clear-eyed about what they are acquiring.

Franck Medina is a Martiniquais graphic artist, and the polymer substrate with holographic strip give the piece a surface credibility that has caused genuine confusion at point of sale.