Catalog
20 Piastres
| Issuer | Banque de l'Indochine |
|---|---|
| Year | 1936-1939 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANQUE DE L'INDOCHINE VINGT PIASTRES L'ARTICLE 139 DU CODE PÉNAL PUNIT DES TRAVAUX FORCÉS CEUX QUI AURONT CONTREFAIT OU FALSIFIÉ LES BILLETS DE BANQUE AUTORISÉES PAR LA LOI SÉB. LAURENT FEC. E. DELOCHE - J. PIEL SC. |
| Reverse description | Central intaglio vignette of a helmeted Athena holding an olive wreath, flanked by stone lion guardian statues on columned plinths, with a detailed architectural vignette of Angkor Wat temple occupying the right portion of the composition. Chinese and Khmer script denominations are arranged vertically at right, while the Vietnamese inscription appears in a cartouche along the lower margin. The entire design is enclosed within decorative guilloche and foliate architectural borders, with the engraver credit RITA SC. in the lower margin. |
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| Comments |
Banque de l'Indochine operated as a private colonial bank with note-issuing privileges across French Indochina — a legal arrangement that persisted well past the point where most colonial powers had centralized such authority. This 20 Piastres issue was produced by the Banque de France in Paris, a printing relationship that gave the notes a technical quality far above what colonial administrations typically arranged through commercial security printers.
The Deloche and Piel engraving credits on the obverse plate reflect the Banque de France's in-house atelier, one of the most accomplished intaglio workshops in the world at the time. Marguerite Dreyfus, known professionally as Rita, handled the reverse — her name appears across multiple Banque de France colonial commissions from this period.
Two signature combinations are documented for circulating examples: De la Chaume & Baudouin appears on specimens only.