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1000 Francs on 100 Piastres
| Issuer | Banque de l'Indo-Chine |
|---|---|
| Year | 1939 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 212 × 142 mm |
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| Obverse description | The central intaglio vignette, executed in violet-blue tones, presents a standing female allegorical figure at right holding a branch and wreath, paired with a robed mandarin figure at left. A bold red letterpress overprint of "MILLE FRANCS" spans the lower portion, superseding the original "CENT PIASTRES" inscription and the Saïgon date "27 Janvier 1920", both similarly struck in red. Panel numerals "1000" occupy the upper left and right corners, with the issuing authority "BANQUE DE L'INDO-CHINE" and branch designation "NOUMÉA" centred at top, flanked by series and serial identifiers. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is entirely printed in violet-blue intaglio with an intricate East Asian decorative composition, featuring horizontal bands of Chinese characters set within ornamental guilloche borders incorporating cloud and wave motifs. A large central medallion bears a stylised dragon amid scrollwork, with supplementary Chinese script panels at left and lower centre. A red letterpress overprint of "MILLE FRANCS" and numeral "1000" crosses the upper field, with "FRANCS" repeated at lower left, "NOUMÉA" inscribed below the central medallion, and a legal notice text block at the foot of the note. |
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| Comments |
The 1000 Francs / 100 Piastres dual-denomination reflects a transitional monetary arrangement rather than indecision — Indochina's piastre had been formally pegged to the franc at 10:1 since 1930, and the bilingual valuation on notes of this period acknowledged both the colonial accounting system and local commercial practice. Bellery-Desfontaines, better known as a poster artist and illustrator who died in 1909, contributed the original design from an earlier commission; Ruffe and Gaspérini executed the intaglio work for the Banque de France pressing.
Notes dated 1939 were printed just as the war in Europe was disrupting normal shipping and colonial finance. The Japanese occupation of Indochina in 1940–41 fundamentally altered how this issue circulated.