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50 Centimes
| Issuer | Établissements Français de l'Océanie |
|---|---|
| Year | 1943 |
| 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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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | P#10 |
| Obverse description | Printed in red-orange on white paper, the note is framed by a decorative border incorporating tropical leaf vignettes at the upper corners and stylised wave motifs at the lower left and right. The central text gives the denomination CINQUANTE CENTIMES in bold letterpress, flanked by numeral counters reading 50C, with the arrêté reference and date at lower left alongside a manuscript signature for the Trésorier Payeur. Serial number and series prefix appear at the bottom centre and corners. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Printed in red-orange on white paper, the reverse is divided into a grid-like underprint pattern. At left, a shaped cartouche contains the statutory guarantee text, surmounted by a small lighthouse vignette above stylised waves; at centre, a decorative rooster vignette appears beside the anti-counterfeiting warning; at right, an oval ornamental panel encloses the value numeral 50C. The overall composition reflects a simple emergency-issue letterpress design produced locally in Tahiti. |
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| Comments |
French Oceania was cut off from metropolitan France following the fall of Paris in 1940, and notes like this one were produced entirely within the territory out of necessity. Imprimerie Jean C. Ferrand in Papeete was a commercial printer pressed into emergency currency work — not a security press — which is why the printing quality varies noticeably across surviving examples of this series.
The 1943 dating reflects continued local production under the Free French administration, which had rallied to de Gaulle in September 1940. Small-denomination fractional notes were particularly important given the near-total disruption of coin supply during wartime.