300 Francs - Cérès type 1938

The Cérès 300 Francs was a short-lived denomination, introduced as French authorities scrambled to meet demand for a mid-range note between the 100 and 1000 Franc values during a period of acute monetary pressure. The 300 Franc face value is itself unusual — round-number multiples of 100 were standard Banque de France practice, making this an outlier that signals genuine economic disruption rather than routine issuance policy.

Serveau's design was engraved by Deloche and printed at Prieur et Dubois in Puteaux, a short-run arrangement. The type was withdrawn from circulation after 1939, when wartime conditions made replacement and reissue impractical. Surviving circulated examples frequently show accelerated wear along the horizontal fold lines, consistent with heavy short-term use before supply dried up.