Catalog
20 Piastres
| Issuer | Banque de l'Indo-Chine |
|---|---|
| Year | 1909-1917 |
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| Currency | Piastre (1880-1952) |
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| Obverse description | Intaglio-printed note in blue-violet tones, with a central vignette by Georges Duval engraved by Léon Ruffé. At left, a seated allegorical female figure holds a sword, while at right an Asian couple is rendered in detailed classical style, the composition framed by ornate guilloche borders with the denomination numeral '20' in each corner. The central text reads 'VINGT PIASTRES PAYABLES EN ESPECES AU PORTEUR' beneath the bank title, with the place and date of issue 'SAIGON' and signature lines for the branch cashier and administrator-director. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANQUE DE L'INDO-CHINE DÉCRETS DES 21 JANVIER 1875, 20 FÉVRIER 1888, 16 MAI 1900 & 3 AVRIL 1901 VINGT PIASTRES PAYABLES EN ESPECES AU PORTEUR SAIGON LÉON RUFFÉ SC. GEORGES DUVAL fecit |
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| Comments |
The Banque de l'Indo-Chine occupied an unusual legal position — it was a private institution operating under a French government concession, which meant these notes carried quasi-official authority without being government paper in the strict sense. The concession system gave the bank a monopoly on note issue across French Indochina, and Paris-printed notes like this one were shipped out to branch offices in Saigon, Hanoi, Haiphong, Phnom Penh, and beyond.
Ruffé was among the more accomplished engravers working at the Banque de France atelier during this period. The plate quality on this series reflects that — detail retention even on heavily circulated examples tends to be markedly better than on comparable colonial issues from competing printers.