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20 Francs St. Thomas
| Issuer | Den Dansk-Vestindiske Nationalbank (National Bank of the Danish West Indies) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1905 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 20 Francs = 4 Daler |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 20 20 DEN DANSK-VESTINDISKE NATIONALBANK betaler paa Anfordring til Indehaveren TYVE FRANCS I GULD THE NATIONAL BANK OF THE DANISH WEST INDIES will pay to the Bearer on Demand TWENTY FRANCS IN GOLD Charlotte Amalie ST. THOMAS 1905 Bradbury Wilkinson & Co. Ld Engravers, London |
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| Protection description | Watermark area visible at right side of note. |
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| Comments |
Den Dansk-Vestindiske Nationalbank occupied an unusual position among colonial issuers: it functioned as a private chartered bank with note-issuing rights over a territory that Denmark had been trying, intermittently, to sell to the United States since the 1860s. Negotiations came close to conclusion in 1902, when a treaty of sale was actually signed — then rejected by the Danish upper house. Notes of this period were therefore issued against a background of genuine uncertainty about which nation would ultimately back the currency.
Bradbury Wilkinson produced the plates in London. The franc-denomination system used in the Danish West Indies was a local peculiarity — the islands ran parallel to, but not formally aligned with, French francs — and was eventually replaced by dollars when the U.S. finally completed the purchase in 1917 for $25 million.