Catalog
50 Centimes
| Issuer | Régence de Tunis |
|---|---|
| Year | 1918 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Green lithographed note with a decorative guilloche border incorporating the denomination numeral '50' at each corner. The title 'RÉGENCE DE TUNIS' appears at the top within a ruled panel, with the large denomination title 'CINQUANTE CENTIMES' in bold letterpress below, accompanied by the Arabic equivalent. The decree date, series number, and note number are printed in the upper register, while bilingual French and Arabic text panels covering the exchange clause and counterfeiting penalty occupy the lower half, flanked by two manuscript signature lines for the Trésorier Général de Tunisie and the Directeur Général des Finances. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Printed entirely in green on plain paper, the reverse is covered with a dense repeated letterpress underprint of the text 'DIRECTION GÉNÉRALE DES FINANCES' forming an all-over background pattern. At centre, a large circular official stamp of the Régence de Tunis is applied in black ink, bearing the arms of the Regency. The header panel reads 'RÉGENCE DE TUNIS' and the footer panel 'PROTECTORAT FRANÇAIS', with the denomination numeral '50' repeated in each corner medallion. |
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| Comments |
Issued during the First World War's final phase, this note exists because the metal coin it replaced had been consumed by wartime demand for copper and nickel. France's protectorate administration over Tunisia extended to its monetary emergency measures, and small-denomination paper fractional currency was the result — a stopgap that outlasted the armistice into 1919.
Yvorra, Barlier et Clavé printing this locally in Tunis rather than sourcing from a metropolitan French house was unusual for the period, and Weber handling both design and engraving himself kept the entire production chain within the colony. A tight wartime arrangement that shows in the note's relatively modest execution.