Catalog
20 Dollars / 20 Piastres
| Issuer | Banque de l'Indo-Chine |
|---|---|
| Year | 1898 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANQUE DE L'INDO-CHINE HAIPHONG TWENTY DOLLARS VINGT PIASTRES TO BE PAID ON DEMAND TO BEARER PAYABLES EN ESPÈCES AU PORTEUR A. BRAMTOT ET G. DUVAL-FEC. CH.WULLSCHLEGER SC. |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed with a dense guilloche underprint in red, overlaid with Chinese character inscriptions arranged in vertical columns across the field. A large central circular punch-hole cancellation is present, and three bold black overprinted "ANNULÉ" (cancelled) legends run vertically at intervals across the face. A faint violet ink stamp appears in the lower right area, consistent with administrative cancellation markings applied by the bank. |
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| Comments |
The Banque de l'Indo-Chine held a monopoly on note issue across French colonial Southeast Asia from its founding in 1875, renewed periodically under direct pressure from Paris. This 1898 plate design was engraved by Charles Wullschleger for the Parisian firm Giesecke & Devrient's French operations — an unusual pairing of German technical expertise with French colonial finance. Bramtot was a Prix de Rome laureate whose work appeared on French state bonds; Duval handled the ornamental engraving. Their collaboration on this series was a deliberate elevation of the note's aesthetic authority in markets where Chinese merchant networks still preferred silver coin.