50 Francs - Saint-Exupéry type 1984

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry had been on the French 50 franc note since 1974, but the 1984 redesign — both designed and engraved by Roger Pfund — marked an unusual case of a single artist controlling the full graphic and intaglio execution of a circulating French banknote. Pfund, a Swiss designer based in Geneva, brought a distinctly literary, almost manuscript-like sensibility to the series, integrating text fragments and abstract line work in ways that were unconventional for Chamalières output at the time.

The note circulated until 1992, when the 50 franc Quentin de La Tour type replaced it.