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5 Francs
| Issuer | Banque de la Réunion |
|---|---|
| Year | 1873 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | The note is executed in lithography with a letterpress layout centred on a bold guilloche-framed panel bearing the denomination CINQ FRANCS. The issuer's name BANQUE DE LA RÉUNION appears at the top in large capitals, flanked on both sides by engraved vignettes of tropical palm and sugar-cane vegetation. The lower portion carries two manuscript signatures above the roles Le Directeur and Le Caissier, with the date arrêté du 12 Septembre 1873 at the lower right and the notation ÉMISSION autorisée at the lower left. A decorative cartouche is centred at the foot of the note. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | No reverse image available; the reverse of this early lithographed issue is believed to be plain or lightly printed, consistent with other Banque de la Réunion notes of the 1873 series. |
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| Comments |
The Banque de la Réunion was established in 1849 as one of the colonial banks created by the French government following emancipation — institutions designed as much to manage the credit demands of plantation owners losing their enslaved labor force as to serve any broader financial public. This 1873 emission came during a period of sustained economic difficulty on the island, as the sugar industry struggled against falling world prices and the transition to paid labor.
Locally lithographed by A. Roussin in Saint-Denis, which makes it unusual — most colonial French notes of this period were produced in metropolitan France. The technical limitations of island printing are often visible in surviving examples.