5 Francs

The Compagnie de la Nouvelle-Calédonie was a colonial trading company granted commercial privileges in the territory during the early years of French settlement — and like several such enterprises operating far from metropolitan oversight, it resorted to issuing its own fractional notes when coin shortages made daily commerce impractical. This 5 Francs note from 1874 is among the earliest paper issues associated with New Caledonia, predating any formal colonial banking infrastructure on the island by years.

Imprimerie Chaix was a respected Parisian commercial printer better known for railway timetables and illustrated periodicals than for currency work, which likely reflects the provisional, quasi-official nature of this emission rather than any deliberate institutional choice.