Catalog
20 Francs
| Issuer | Banque de l'Indochine |
|---|---|
| Year | 1951-1963 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| 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) | Obverse: Georges Régnier Reverse: Auguste Chapon |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | NOUMÉA BANQUE DE L'INDOCHINE 20 NOUVELLES HÉBRIDES VINGT FRANCS MUNIER FEC. REGNIER SC. |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | VINGT FRANCS 20 NOUMÉA NOUVELLES HÉBRIDES MUNIER FEC. CHAPON SC. LE CONTREFACTEUR SERA PUNI DES TRAVAUX FORCES A PERPETUITÉ |
| 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 Banque de l'Indochine's 20 Francs series straddles one of the most turbulent currency transitions in colonial monetary history. By 1951, French Indochina had already fractured politically — Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia were each moving toward separate monetary arrangements — yet the Banque de l'Indochine continued issuing unified franc-denominated notes across the territory until the piastre's final abolition and the institution's eventual replacement by successor central banks in the mid-1950s.
The note was engraved at the Banque de France's printing works in Paris, a facility that handled much of France's colonial currency output. Régnier and Chapon were both staff engravers there, working on separate plates for obverse and reverse — a standard division of labor for the atelier, though Pierre Munier's design credit is less commonly documented for this specific series.