Catalog
50 Francs
| Issuer | Banque de Madagascar |
|---|---|
| Year | 1926-1950 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Madagascar Franc (1925-1945) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | To the left, a vignette of Minerva seated and holding her shield with her left hand; to the right, Vesta, goddess of the hearth, is similarly seated. At the lower centre, the watermark area is framed within a round cartouche. Inscriptions appear along the upper and lower borders identifying the issuing authority and denomination. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
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| Protection type | Watermark |
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| Comments |
The Banque de Madagascar was a concessionary institution — a private bank granted the right of issue by the French colonial authorities — and this long-running series reflects the economic continuity France imposed on the island through most of its occupation period. The 24-year span on this note is not unusual for colonial issues; plate changes were expensive, and political pressure to redesign rarely came from Paris unless a crisis forced it.
Léon Glaize and Charles-Jules Robert were both associated with the Banque de France's in-house production apparatus, giving the note the same engraving quality as metropolitan French issues of the period. Glaize in particular worked on multiple colonial series simultaneously during the interwar decades.
Dating individual specimens within the 1926–1950 window is possible only by reading the handwritten or stamped date on each example.