3.000 Francs

The 3,000 Francs was the highest denomination the Banque de France issued during the late Third Republic, and its appearance in 1938 is no accident — the French government was quietly preparing for wartime financial pressure, and large-denomination notes reduce the physical volume of cash required to conduct serious transactions. The series was short-lived; German occupation in 1940 dramatically disrupted French currency administration, and the Vichy regime's monetary arrangements with the Reichsbank effectively removed high-value notes from normal commerce.

Pick 104 is scarce in any grade. The wartime disruption meant relatively few entered prolonged circulation before being withdrawn or destroyed.