Catalog
25 Francs
| Issuer | Banque du Sénégal |
|---|---|
| Year | 1853-1901 |
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| Value | 25 Francs |
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| Obverse description | Typeset uniface note with an ornate letterpress border framing the central text. Caduceus vignettes appear in each corner, with a set of scales at the bottom centre. The denomination "vingt-cinq francs." is set in large script typeface at centre, above the signature line bearing three manuscript signatures under the titles Le Directeur, Le Caissier, and Un des Censeurs. Two circular medallion panels flank the upper text block, and "ANNULÉ" cancellation stamps appear in blue ink. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANQUE DU SÉNÉGAL IL SERA PAYÉ EN ESPÈCES, A VUE, AU PORTEUR VINGT-CINQ FRANCS CORNOUAILLES FECIT. |
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| Comments |
The Banque du Sénégal was established in 1853 as a colonial bank of issue, one of a handful created under the Second Empire to serve French West African commercial interests — primarily the gum arabic trade operating out of Saint-Louis. Its notes circulated in an economy where much of the population had no particular use for French paper currency, and actual hand-to-hand circulation was almost entirely confined to the merchant class and colonial administration.
Surviving examples from this series are genuinely rare. The bank's liquidation in 1901, when it was absorbed into what became the Banque de l'Afrique Occidentale, resulted in mass destruction of remaining stocks.