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50 Francs - Luc Olivier Merson type 1927
| Issuer | Banque de France |
|---|---|
| Year | 1913-1930 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | P#77 |
| Obverse description | A vignette of the young Mercury seated at the lower centre dominates the face of the note, rendered in fine intaglio engraving. Two cherubs appear at the upper portion of the composition, framed within an oval cartouche bordered by gilded ornamental mouldings. The designer's credit inscription appears in the lower margin, with the denomination numerals repeated at all four corners. |
|---|---|
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| Protection type | Watermark |
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| Comments |
The 50 Francs Merson had an unusually long production run — over seventeen years across a period that included the full trauma of the First World War, wartime inflation, and the subsequent currency pressures of the early 1920s. The design was conceived before 1914 and kept in service well past its original context, which was far from uncommon for Banque de France issues reluctant to absorb the cost of new plate preparation.
Romagnoli's engraving work on this series is among the finer intaglio output of the period from the Banque's own workshops. Ernest Deloche, who handled part of the reverse, was a longtime in-house engraver whose name appears across multiple Banque de France issues of the same decades.