Catalog
20 Dollars / 20 Piastres
| Issuer | Banque de l'Indochine |
|---|---|
| Year | 1898 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Piastre (1880-1952) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | The obverse of this Chinese-language format note is vertically oriented, with the central vignette consisting of a large circular guilloche medallion surrounded by Chinese calligraphic text reading the denomination and issuing bank name. Decorative lattice-pattern borders frame the composition on all four sides, with corner cartouches containing additional Chinese characters. The overall layout follows the traditional Chinese banknote style, with inked manuscript-style text integrated into the printed design. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse presents a vertical format with continuous geometric lattice-work border panels enclosing Chinese calligraphic text arranged in vertical columns. A central circular guilloche motif anchors the composition, flanked by vertical text panels bearing the bank designation and value inscription in Chinese characters. Corner ornaments with crosshatch patterns complete the decorative framework, consistent with the Chinese-script format issued for circulation in the Chinese-speaking communities of Indochina. |
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| Comments |
The Banque de l'Indochine's dual-denomination format — denominating simultaneously in dollars and piastres — reflects the monetary confusion of late nineteenth-century French Indochina, where the Mexican silver dollar circulated alongside the French colonial piastre at rough parity. The bank, chartered in Paris in 1875, held the monopoly on note issue across the federation, and this series predates the piastre's full displacement of competing silver coinage by several years.
Bramtot and Duval were both associated with the Imprimerie Nationale in Paris; Wullschleger's engraving work appears across several high-prestige Indochinois issues of the period. The combination is unusual enough to note.