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25 Francs Grand-Bassam
| Issuer | Banque de l'Afrique Occidentale |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920-1923 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANQUE DE L'AFRIQUE OCCIDENTALE Vingt-Cinq Francs PAYABLES EN ESPÈCES, A VUE, AU PORTEUR GRAND-BASSAM Le Président L'Administrateur-Directeur h.Bellery Desfontaines del. ERNEST ET FREDERIC FLORIAN SC. |
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| Variants | P#7Da - 09.03.1916*, 09.11.1917*, 11.09.1919*, 12.02.1920, 15.04.1920* "Grand-Bassam" in plate on front without overprint "Grand-Bassam" and "Côte d'Ivoire" * * not listed in catalog P#7Db(1) - 12.07.1923 place of issue overprinted over "Conakry" P#7Db(2) - 12.07.1923 place of issue in plate |
| Comments |
The Banque de l'Afrique Occidentale was a private institution operating under French colonial charter, and this 25-franc note — payable at Grand-Bassam, then the administrative capital of Côte d'Ivoire — predates the shift of that role to Boulogne-sur-Mer and eventually Abidjan. Grand-Bassam was already in decline by 1920, devastated by repeated yellow fever epidemics in the early 1900s that had gutted its European population and prompted the colonial administration to relocate.
The Florian brothers — Ernest and Frédéric — engraved the plates, a family pairing unusual enough to note. The BAO series from this period was produced at the Banque de France's printing works in Paris, the same facility handling metropolitan French currency.