Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
500 Francs
| Issuer | Banque de la Martinique |
|---|---|
| Year | 1932-1945 |
| 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 | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANQUE DE LA MARTINIQUE CINQ CENTS FRANCS PAYABLES EN ESPÉCES, À VUE, AU PORTEUR L`ARTICLE 139 DU CODE PÉNAL PUNIT DES TRAVAUX FORCÉS À PERPÉTUITÉ LE CONTREFACTEUR 500 H. DANGER FEC. RITA SC. (Translation: Bank of Martinique Five Hundred Francs payable in cash to bearer Article 139 of the Penal Code punishes with forced labor in perpetuity the counterfeiter.) |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | BANQUE DE LA MARTINIQUE 500 GEORGES DUVAL INV. DEL. ÉMILE CROSBIE SC (Translation: Bank of Martinique 500) |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The Banque de la Martinique was not a central bank in any modern sense — it was one of several colonial privilege banks established under French law, with note-issuing rights tied directly to its founding charter. This 500 Francs note was produced by the Banque de France's printing workshops, which handled colonial currency production for several French overseas territories during this period. The engraving credits are worth attention: Marguerite Dreyfus, who signed her work as "Rita," was among the relatively few women working as intaglio engravers at the Banque de France atelier during the interwar decades.
Martinique's wartime monetary situation complicated matters considerably — after the fall of France in 1940, the island fell under Vichy administration until mid-1943, creating a period of economic isolation that affected the note stock in circulation.