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20 Francs
| Issuer | Banque du Congo Belge |
|---|---|
| Year | 1950 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Franc (1887-1960) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANQUE DU CONGO BELGE VINGT FRANCS PAYABLES A VUE NEUVIEME EMISSION - 1950 L`Adm Délégué Le Gouverneur NEUVIÈME EMISSION 20 FRANCS LA LOI PUNIT LE CONTREFACTEUR DES TRAVAUX FORCES THOMAS DE LA RUE & COMPANY LIMITED, LONDON (Translation: BANK OF BELGIAN CONGO TWENTY FRANCS PAYABLE AT SIGHT The Delegate Administrator The Governor NINTH ISSUE 20 FRANCS THE LAW PUNISHES THE COUNTERFEITER WITH HARD LABOUR THOMAS DE LA RUE & COMPANY LIMITED, LONDON) |
| Reverse description | Central vignette of two mahouts riding elephants through dense tropical jungle foliage, engaged in timber work, printed in blue intaglio. The denomination '20 FRANK' appears in large numerals at lower right, with the title 'TWINTIG FRANK' at top. The 'NEGENDE UITGIFTE - 1950' overprint is printed across the centre, and two guilloche rosettes bearing the monogram 'BC' are positioned on either side of the main vignette. |
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| Comments |
The Banque du Congo Belge's 20 Francs series ran through multiple signature varieties across the late 1940s and into the 1950s, and P#15H sits near the end of that sequence. Thomas De La Rue had handled Colonial Congolese printing contracts for decades, a relationship that outlasted the war years when European colonial currency production was severely disrupted.
Cotton substrate on these later printings tends to survive well in equatorial conditions — but the Congo's humidity made storage difficult, and genuinely uncirculated examples from this period are harder to find than their print runs suggest.