Catalog
25 Francs
| Issuer | Banque de l'Afrique Occidentale |
|---|---|
| Year | 1943 |
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| Value | 25 Francs |
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| Obverse description | Central vignette shows a turbaned North African man in profile to the right, with a bridled horse's head occupying the left side of the note. To the right, a large overprinted stamp reads 'FEZZAN' within an oval cartouche, accompanied by the initials 'RF'. The denomination '25' appears in the upper corners, with the issuing bank name and engraver credits along the lower border. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | VINGT CINQ FRANCS RF FEZZAN BANQUE DE L'AFRIQUE OCCIDENTALE SEB. LAURENT FEC. E. DELOCHE SC. (Translation: Twenty-Five Francs RF Fezzan Bank of West Africa) |
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| Comments |
The Banque de l'Afrique Occidentale occupied an unusual position during the Second World War — as a private concessionary bank rather than a state institution, it continued issuing currency across French West Africa through both the Vichy and Free French periods, sometimes with the same plate designs serving politically opposite administrations. The 1943 date places this note squarely in the transitional phase after the Allied landings in North Africa, when French West Africa had shifted allegiance from Vichy to the Free French under Giraud.
The "M" prefix in the Pick classification denotes the military issue designation applied retrospectively by cataloguers — the note circulated in the same territories as the standard civilian series but under wartime supply and distribution conditions that were anything but routine.