25 Francs

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.