Catalog
50 Francs
| Issuer | Banque du Congo Belge |
|---|---|
| Year | 1943-1952 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Rectangular |
| 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) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Black intaglio printing on a multicolor guilloche underprint in orange and pink tones. A finely engraved oval vignette at right presents a Congolese woman in profile facing left, wearing traditional beaded jewelry and an elaborate coiffure. At centre-left, a large ornate guilloche rosette frames the numeral '50', with the Belgian Congo flag vignette above and the bilingual denomination 'CINQUANTE FRANCS / PAYABLES À VUE' in a decorative panel below; series and emission date lettering appear in red. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | P#16a - without Émission P#16b - Émission 1943 P#16c - Émission 1945 P#16d - Émission 1946 P#16e - Émission 1947 P#16f - Émission 1948 P#16g - Émission 1949 P#16h - Émission 1950 P#16i - Émission 1951 P#16j - Émission 1952 |
| Comments |
The Banque du Congo Belge turned to the American Bank Note Company during the Second World War after its usual European printing arrangements became untenable — Belgium was under German occupation, and routing sensitive currency production through occupied territory was not an option. ABNC filled the gap for several colonial issuers during this period, and the Congo series was among the longer-running contracts, with this type remaining in production well into the early 1950s.
The extended date range of nearly a decade for a single type reflects postwar inertia in colonial monetary administration rather than any planned continuity.