Catalog
5 Piastres
| Issuer | Banque de l'Indo-Chine |
|---|---|
| Year | 1909-1916 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 175 x 107 mm |
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| Obverse description | The central vignette portrays a harbour scene at lower left with ships at anchor amid tropical foliage and a lotus flower at lower centre, all framed within an elaborate intaglio border of intertwined dragons. The large numeral '5' appears at upper right within a circular guilloche cartouche, with the bold letterpress legend 'CINQ PIASTRES' across the centre and 'PAYABLES EN ESPECES AU PORTEUR' below. Signature lines for the Caissier de la Succursale, an Administrateur, and the Directeur appear at lower centre, with the engraver's credit 'GEORGES DUVAL fec. L. RUFFE SC' at the lower margin. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | GEO. DUVAL fec. |
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| Comments |
Banque de l'Indo-Chine occupied an unusual institutional position: it was a private French colonial bank granted authority to issue currency across French Indochina, operating simultaneously as a commercial lender and a note-issuing body. The arrangement created persistent tension with both the colonial government and local merchants throughout the note's period of issue.
Printed at the Banque de France's workshops in Paris — the same facility producing French state currency — the plates were engraved by Ruffe, a craftsman whose work appears across multiple French colonial issues of the period. The seven-year date span reflects reissues rather than a single continuous print run.