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20 Francs Nouméa
| Issuer | Banque de l'Indochine |
|---|---|
| Year | 1929 |
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| Engraver(s) | Obverse: Ernest Deloche Reverse: Marguerite Dreyfus (Rita) |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANQUE DE L'INDOCHINE VINGT FRANCS NOUMÉA 20 CL. SERVEAU FEC. E. DELOCHE SC. (Translation: BANK OF INDOCHINA TWENTY FRANCS NOUMÉA 20) |
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| Reverse lettering | NOUMÉA 20 FR ROQUE FEC. RITA SC. L'ARTICLE 139 DU CODE PÉNAL PUNIT DES TRAVAUX FORCÉS CEUX QUI AURONT CONTREFAIT OU FALSIFIÉ LES BILLETS DE BANQUES AUTORISÉES PAR LA LOI. (Translation: NOUMÉA 20 FR — Article 139 of the Penal Code punishes with hard labour those who counterfeit or falsify banknotes authorised by law.) |
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| Comments |
The Banque de l'Indochine's reach extended well beyond Southeast Asia — this note was issued specifically for New Caledonia, where the bank held the exclusive right of issue from 1888. The 1929 date places it just before the Great Depression gutted nickel prices, which were the backbone of the territory's economy, making circulation of even low denominations financially significant at the time.
Clément Serveau was a serious choice for this work — a decorated poster artist and printmaker whose figurative style gave Banque de France-printed colonial issues a distinctly metropolitan quality. Marguerite Dreyfus, who signed her engraving work as "Rita," contributed to the reverse intaglio — one of the few women engravers working at the Banque de France atelier in this period.