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25 Francs
| Issuer | Banque de la Guadeloupe |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920-1944 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 25 Francs |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANQUE de la GUADELOUPE IL SERA PAYE EN ESPÈCE, A VUE, AU PORTEUR vingt-cinq francs. CORNOUAILLES FECIT. (Translation: Bank of Guadeloupe will pay in cash to bearer Twenty-Five Francs) |
| Reverse description | Printed in red, the reverse presents a central vignette of a small boat surrounded by tropical flowers, flanked on either side by banana and coconut palm trees. An aerial view of an island forms the background, evoking the Caribbean landscape of Guadeloupe. The overall composition reflects the colonial decorative style typical of early twentieth-century French overseas banknotes. |
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| Comments |
The Banque de la Guadeloupe was a colonial bank of issue operating under French government concession, not a central bank in any modern sense. Its notes circulated across Guadeloupe and, at various periods, in neighboring French territories including Martinique and French Guiana — which is why survivorship of this series is spread across multiple collecting markets.
The engraver Émile Crosbie worked principally for the Banque de France's printing operation, and his involvement here points to metropolitan French production rather than a colonial press. The twenty-four-year span on this issue — 1920 through 1944 — almost certainly reflects wartime supply disruption after France fell in 1940, forcing continued circulation of aging stock well past its intended replacement date.