Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
5 Francs French occupation of the Fezzan - WWII
| Issuer | French Military Authority (Fezzan) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1936-1938 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | P#M9 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse of the underlying French West Africa note retains its original design, with a central vignette of an African man wearing a red fez seated at a traditional loom, rendered in warm ochre and blue tones. The issuer title 'BANQUE DE L'AFRIQUE OCCIDENTALE' appears in the upper panel, with the denomination numeral '5' repeated at lower left and lower right within a geometric guilloche border. A legal warning cartouche at the bottom centre cites Article 139 of the Penal Code concerning banknote counterfeiting. |
| Reverse lettering | BANQUE DE L'AFRIQUE OCCIDENTALE L'ARTICLE 139 DU CODE PÉNAL PUNIT DES TRAVAUX FORCÉS CEUX QUI AURONT CONTREFAIT OU FALSIFIÉ LES BILLETS DE BANQUES AUTORISÉES PAR LA LOI |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The Fezzan was a remote Saharan province of Italian Libya when French forces under General Leclerc seized it in January 1943 during the North African campaign. The occupation notes pressed into service there were not purpose-designed for the territory — the French military drew on existing Banque de France stock, which is why these pieces carry dates from the late 1930s, predating the occupation by several years.
Circulating among a sparse desert population with limited experience of French currency, many notes returned to military hands quickly and saw little wear. The Fezzan remained under French administration until Libyan independence in 1951.