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2 Francs penal text in 3 lines on reverse
| Issuer | Trésorerie de Nouméa |
|---|---|
| Year | 1918-1919 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 2 Francs |
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| Obverse description | Green on unprinted paper. A vignette at left depicts a Kanak figure standing in a dugout canoe beneath tall palm trees, rendered in fine line engraving. The denomination 'Deux Francs' is printed in large bold letterpress typeface at centre, flanked by a decorative border of repeating geometric guilloche patterns along all four margins. The note bears the issuing authority and decree date in the upper portion, with manuscript date 'Nouméa, le 13 Janvier 1919' and two handwritten signatures in the lower right. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Green on unprinted paper. Two tall totem-like carved pillars flank the left and right margins, supporting the decorative border. At centre, a laurel wreath vignette encloses the denomination '2 Fr' above a cartouche inscribed 'TRÉSOR', with radiating lines filling the lower field. The upper portion carries the 'RÉPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE' and 'BON DE CAISSE' headings, followed by the three-line penal warning text in letterpress, and a further note in italic script regarding withdrawal from circulation. |
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| Comments |
Trésorerie de Nouméa issued this emergency fractional note during the acute coin shortage that gripped New Caledonia in the final years of the First World War. The metropolitan supply of small coinage had effectively dried up, and local authorities improvised with paper scraps to fill the gap.
The "penal text in 3 lines" designation refers to the printed warning threatening prosecution for counterfeiting — a detail Pick catalogers use to distinguish between otherwise nearly identical printings of this type. That variation is the only reliable differentiator between this reference and its close siblings in the series.