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5 Francs thin border
| Issuer | Trésor Colonial de la Martinique |
|---|---|
| Year | 1884 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 5 Francs |
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| Obverse description | Printed in black on beige paper, the note is enclosed within a thin decorative typographic border. The denomination CINQ FRANCS is set in large bold letterpress type at centre, below which a numbered serial field is left blank. Signature lines for Le Délégué du Directeur de l'Intérieur and Le Trésorier-payeur flank the lower central area, with the guarantee legend in cursive script along the bottom margin. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | COLONIE DE LA MARTINIQUE TRÉSOR COLONIAL (Décret du 18 Août 1884) CINQ FRANCS No Le Délégué du Directeur de l'Intérieur, Le Trésorier-payeur, La contre-valeur en espèces est déposée au Trésor. Imprimerie des Colonies (Translation: Colony of Martinique / Colonial Treasury / (Decree of 18 August 1884) / Five Francs / No. / The Delegate of the Director of the Interior, / The Treasurer-Paymaster, / The cash equivalent is deposited in the Treasury. / Colonial Printing Office) |
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| Comments |
The Trésor Colonial de la Martinique operated as a quasi-governmental fiscal intermediary rather than a true central bank, with its note issues ultimately backed by the French metropolitan Treasury. This 1884 emission predates the establishment of the Banque de la Martinique by several years, placing it squarely within the transitional period when colonial currency administration in the French Antilles remained a patchwork of treasury instruments rather than formal banking circulation.
The "thin border" designation distinguishes this from a closely related type — a minor but catalogued die difference that matters for completeness. Imprimerie des Colonies, the specialist Paris printer responsible for much of France's colonial paper, produced the note for Caribbean distribution.