Catalog
25 Francs Grand-Bassam
| Issuer | Banque de l'Afrique Occidentale |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
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| Printer | Banque de France, France |
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| Obverse description | The obverse presents a panoramic African landscape at dusk, framed by a large baobab tree at right and an elephant at lower left, with a second elephant visible at lower right; the denomination 'Vingt-Cinq Francs' is inscribed in large serif lettering at centre below the bank title, with the clause 'PAYABLES EN ESPÈCES, A VUE, AU PORTEUR' beneath. A black overprint reads 'GRAND-BASSAM' across the centre, accompanied by the date 12 Juillet 1923 and two manuscript signatures. Numeral '25' appears within decorative guilloche panels at each corner, and a rooster vignette is set within an octagonal frame at top centre. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | بانك سو فوجنت بانك افريك الغربي كنابر كنابر كبر معاشي يبقده الورقة ند كعني يلكيكيه تنسقني فلانربورج قسلاسه مع التيه بي الساهة جروم و زرم خمسة دراهم Georges DUVAL . fecit. |
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| Comments |
The Banque de l'Afrique Occidentale was a private colonial bank, not a central bank in any modern sense — it held a concession to issue currency across French West Africa, a privilege that generated considerable political friction back in Paris. Grand-Bassam was the original colonial capital of Côte d'Ivoire before a yellow fever epidemic devastated the settlement and forced administrative relocation to Bingerville in 1900, so the place-of-payment designation on this note carries a quiet historical irony.
The Florian brothers — Frédéric and Ernest-Théophile — engraved the plates, working from designs by two separate artists. Bellery-Desfontaines was primarily an illustrator and poster artist, an unusual background for banknote work.