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50 Centimes
| Issuer | Établissements Français Libres de l'Océanie |
|---|---|
| Year | 1942 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| 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#7 |
| Obverse description | Printed in orange and green, the note presents a central vignette of a hand holding an upraised torch, with the Cross of Lorraine (Shield of Lorraine) positioned at the bottom centre as a symbol of the Free French movement. The denomination "0,50" appears in the upper corners, with the full value "CINQUANTE CENTIMES" inscribed below the central motif. Decorative border elements frame the composition, with the issuing authority's name arched across the top. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Émission faite sous la responsabilité de la Colonie des Établissements Français Libres de L'Océanie et garantie par un dépôt correspondant au Trésor. (La Loi punit les contrefacteurs.) (Translation: Issue made under the responsibility of the Colony of the Free French Establishments of Oceania and guaranteed by a corresponding deposit at the Treasury. (The law punishes counterfeiters.)) |
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| Comments |
Issued under the Free French administration in Tahiti after the territory sided with de Gaulle in September 1940, this note was produced entirely on-island — an unusual situation driven by the impossibility of obtaining currency from metropolitan France under Vichy control. Jean C. Ferrand's print shop in Papeete was not a security printer by trade, and the limitations show in the relatively simple typography and unguarded paper stock.
Georges Reboul-Salze, a local administrator with artistic inclinations, designed the series himself. Emergency necessity, not institutional planning, explains why these notes exist at all.