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5 Francs - Blue type 1905
| Issuer | Banque de France |
|---|---|
| Year | 1906-1917 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | 31 December 1933 |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in blue and displays twin cornucopia vignettes spilling fruit and foliage in the upper corners, flanked by elaborate floral and foliate guilloche borders. The denomination numeral 5 appears in each corner, and the issuer name runs along the bottom margin in bold letterpress. The engraver's credit appears at lower left. |
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| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Female head in profile with the text BANQUE DE FRANCE below, visible when held to light |
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| Comments |
The Banque de France introduced this note partly to reduce reliance on the 5-franc silver coin, whose metal value kept pace uncomfortably close to its face value. Chazal and Dujardin had collaborated on earlier Banque de France work, and the engraving quality on this series is notably finer than what the denomination's everyday purchasing power might suggest warranted — the French central bank rarely skimped on small notes the way other issuers did.
The eleven-year print run spanned the entirety of the First World War, during which small-denomination paper circulated heavily as hoarding stripped coinage from everyday commerce. High-circulation survival on this type is consequently rough.