Catalog
50 francs / 10 Ariary
| Issuer | Institut d'Émission Malgache |
|---|---|
| Year | 1964-1973 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 120 × 80 mm |
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| Obverse description | Central vignette presents a Malagasy woman in three-quarter portrait wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat, set against a lush botanical background of tropical foliage and coffee branches rendered in intaglio. The denomination "50" appears in green at upper left and upper right corners, with "CINQUANTE FRANCS" in large green letterpress across the lower centre and "ARIARY FOLO" in a panel at lower left. A signature of the President du Conseil d'Administration appears at lower right, with artist and engraver credits "C. SERVEAU FEC." and "G. POILLIOT SC." at the bottom margins. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Central vignette portrays a Malagasy man wearing a traditional wide-brimmed hat, set before a scenic river landscape with a dugout canoe and a small village nestled among tropical vegetation. The composition is framed by an elaborate botanical border with stylised tropical plant motifs rendered in intaglio. Denomination and institute inscriptions appear in the upper and lower margins. |
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| Comments |
The Institut d'Émission Malgache was established in 1962 as Madagascar transitioned away from the Banque de Madagascar et des Comores following independence, and this series represented the first distinctly Malagasy national issue — though the Banque de France in Paris continued to produce it, as it did for numerous Francophone African states well into the 1970s. Clément Serveau, a prolific designer for French colonial and post-colonial currency, had been working with the Banque de France on African issues since the 1940s.
The dual denomination — francs and ariary — reflects Madagascar's gradual shift toward the ariary as the primary unit, a process not completed until 2005.