20 Piastres

The Banque de l'Indo-Chine occupied an unusual position — a private French bank granted exclusive rights of issue across French Indochina, operating more like a colonial treasury than a commercial institution. The 1920 date places this note in the immediate postwar period, when piastre circulation was expanding rapidly to service the region's rubber and rice export boom.

Ruffe was among the more accomplished engravers working at the Banque de France print shop during this period, and the quality of intaglio work on the P#41 series reflects that. Duval's design commissions for colonial-issue notes were consistent throughout this era, though the degree to which he adapted designs versus recycled compositional templates varies by series.

Banque de France printing on colonial issues was not automatic — earlier Indo-Chine notes had been contracted elsewhere.