Catalog
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| Issuer | Banque de France |
|---|---|
| Year | 1864-1866 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | The note is printed in blue on white paper and framed by an elaborate intaglio-engraved oval guilloche border with dense foliate scrollwork at the corners. At centre, the issuer's name BANQUE de FRANCE appears above the date and the large denomination inscription CINQUANTE FRANCS, with two putti flanking a central vignette at the lower margin. Circular text panels at the left and right bear legal tender notices, while the signature lines for Le Caissier principal and Le Secrétaire général appear across the lower centre field. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | JH CABASSON INVD PANNEMAKER SC. |
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| Comments |
The type 1864 fifty-franc note was among the first issues from the Banque de France to use intaglio engraving at this denomination with any real sophistication, and Pannemaker's work here was done during the height of his career as a wood engraver — an unusual choice of medium for banknote production, where steel ruled. Harang, who worked professionally under the Cabasson pseudonym, was already deeply embedded in the Banque de France's design apparatus by this point.
The three-year window of 1864–1866 is narrow, and surviving circulated examples show pronounced wear along the horizontal folds common to notes of this physical weight — the paper stock was not especially resilient under daily handling.