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20 Francs
| Issuer | Banque du Congo Belge |
|---|---|
| Year | 1950 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 140 × 89 mm |
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| Obverse description | Central vignette of seven figures paddling a large dugout canoe on a river, framed by tropical vegetation and palm trees, printed in blue intaglio. The denomination '20 FRANCS' appears in large numerals at lower left, with serial numbers flanking the title 'VINGT FRANCS' at top. The 'NEUVIÈME EMISSION - 1950' overprint with date appears across the centre, and two guilloche rosettes bearing the monogram 'CB' are positioned on either side of the main vignette. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
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| Protection type | Watermark |
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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.