Catalog
20 Piastres Green
| Issuer | Banque de l'Indochine |
|---|---|
| Year | 1942-1945 |
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| Currency | Piastre (1880-1952) |
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| Obverse description | At left, a large guilloche roundel in dark green frames the numeral '20', while an intaglio vignette of a fortified citadel gate and tower occupies the right field. The bank title 'BANQUE DE L'INDOCHINE' runs across the top margin above a penal code warning inscription, with the denomination 'VINGT PIASTRES' in bold lettering along the lower edge. Three signature panels for L'Inspecteur Général, Le Directeur de la Succursale de Saïgon, and Le Caissier de la Succursale are arranged across the lower centre, with the engraver's credit 'TRAN-TANLOC DEL & SC. IDEO. HANOI' printed below. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANQUE DE L'INDOCHINE L'ARTICLE 139 DU CODE PÉNAL PUNIT DES TRAVAUX FORCÉS CEUX QUI AURONT CONTREFAIT OU FALSIFIÉ LES BILLETS DE BANQUE AUTORISÉE PAR LA LOI VINGT PIASTRES TRAN-TANLOC DEL & SC. IDEO. HANOI L'INSPECTEUR GÉNÉRAL LE DIRECTEUR LA SUCCURSALE DE SAÏGON LE CAISSIER DE LA SUCCURSALE |
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| Comments |
Banque de l'Indochine lost access to its usual French and international printers after the fall of France in 1940, forcing local production at the Imprimerie d'Extrême-Orient in Hanoi. The result was a wartime printing operation working under Japanese occupation — technically Vichy-administered, practically constrained at every level. Trần Tấn Lộc's involvement as both designer and engraver is notable: a Vietnamese craftsman producing the colony's official currency is not the usual arrangement for this period.
Paper quality and ink consistency across the P#70 series varies considerably, a direct consequence of wartime supply disruptions.