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50 Francs - Racine type 1962
| Issuer | Banque de France |
|---|---|
| Year | 1962-1976 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 Francs (50 FRF) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | A portrait vignette of the French dramatist Jean Racine occupies the right portion of the note, rendered in fine intaglio engraving. The background presents a view of the Abbey of Port-Royal-des-Champs, while the heraldic coat of arms attributed to Racine — Azure with a silver swan — appears to the left. Delicate floral guilloche patterns complete the decorative underprint. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | 07.06.1962 - 04.03.1965 / 08.11.1962 - Gouin d'Ambrières / Tondu / Gargam 02.02.1967 - Morant / Tondu / Gargam 07.12.1967 - 05.11.1970 / 07.12.1967 - Bouchet / Tondu / Morant 03.06.1971 - 03.10.1974 - Bouchet / Vergnes / Morant 06.03.1975 - 02.10.1975 / 05.06.1975 - Bouchet / Tronche / Morant 02.01.1976 - 03.06.1976 - Bouchet / Tronche / Strohl |
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| Comments |
The Racine series replaced the Molière 50-franc note as part of a broader Banque de France effort through the 1960s to refresh its circulating designs with new engravings rather than updated prints of existing plates. Pierrette Lambert designed the composition, with André Marliat handling the obverse engraving and Claude Durrens the reverse — a division of labor common at the Banque de France's own printing works, where engravers tended to specialize by face.
The signature combinations across this fourteen-year run are numerous enough that date-signature pairings have become the primary collector variable for the type. The 1967–1970 issues in particular span a transition in the Caissier Général position, making precise attribution important. Worn examples with illegible signatures lose a meaningful part of their catalog identity.