Catalog
2 Francs
| Issuer | Government of Madagascar and Dependencies |
|---|---|
| Year | 1916 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| 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 | The obverse reproduces a postage stamp vignette in olive-green and black tones, enclosed within a decorative border. The central vignette shows a group of Malagasy porters carrying loads through a landscape, with a town visible in the background. The denomination '2f.' appears in a box at the lower centre, with the inscriptions 'R F', 'POSTES' at the top and 'MADAGASCAR ET DÉPENDANCES' along the lower margin. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | R F POSTES 2f. MADAGASCAR ET DÉPENDANCES |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| 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 |
The cardboard emergency fractional notes issued by the Government of Madagascar and Dependencies in 1916 were a direct consequence of wartime metal shortages — France needed its coinage for the war effort, and small-change scarcity in the colonies became acute. These pieces were produced locally rather than sent from the metropole, which was unusual and explains the notably crude manufacture compared to contemporaneous French colonial paper issues.
Cardboard construction makes survival in any acceptable condition genuinely uncommon; Madagascar's humidity was unforgiving.