Catalog
5 Francs
| Issuer | Caisse Centrale de la France d'Outre-Mer |
|---|---|
| Year | 1944 |
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| Currency | Franc (1917-1945) |
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| Obverse description | Red and dark red. A central vignette presents a profile portrait of Marianne wearing a Phrygian cap, set within a dark red eye-shaped oval. Anchor devices flanked by the Cross of Lorraine appear on either side of the central portrait. |
|---|---|
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| Protection type | Watermark |
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| Comments |
The Caisse Centrale de la France d'Outre-Mer was established by de Gaulle's provisional government in 1944 specifically to issue currency for liberated French territories — a deliberate break from Vichy-tainted notes still circulating in some regions. Edmund Dulac, the Franco-British illustrator better known for his Orientalist book plates and British wartime stamp designs, brought an unmistakably decorative hand to the series, unusual for emergency colonial currency printed under wartime constraints.
Bradbury Wilkinson produced the note in London. The small format was a cost and material concession, not a stylistic one.