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500 Francs

Issuer Caisse Centrale de la France d'Outre-Mer
Year 1947
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Printer Banque de France, France
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Reverse description Multicolour printing centred on a vignette of bullock carts laden with sugar cane, evoking the agricultural economy of Réunion. At the lower portion of the note, Article 139 of the Penal Code — the standard anti-counterfeiting warning — is printed within a yellow cartouche. The 'LA RÉUNION' overprint appears in black.
Reverse lettering LA RÉUNION CAISSE CENTRALE DE LA FRANCE D`OUTRE-MER 500 RÉPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE L`ARTICLE 139 DU CODE PÉNAL PUNIT DES TRAVAUX FORCÉ CEUX QUI AURONT CONTREFAIT OU FALSIFIÉ LES BILLETS DE BANQUE AUTORISE PAR LA LOI. C. SERVEAU FEC. | HOURRIEZ SC. LA RÉUNION
(Translation: Reunion Central Fund of Overseas France Article 139 of the Penal Code punishes forced Labor those who have counterfeited or falsified banknotes authorized by Law. Five Hundred Francs Reunion)
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Comments

The Caisse Centrale de la France d'Outre-Mer was established in 1944 to handle monetary affairs across France's overseas territories in the immediate postwar reorganization — a deliberate separation from the Banque de France proper, which had been compromised by its role during the Occupation. This 500 Francs note circulated across multiple distinct territories under the same issuing authority, which is why P#46 turns up in collections associated with everything from French Guiana to Réunion.

Clément Serveau was a prolific designer for French colonial currency; Beltrand's engraving work on the obverse is characteristically fine-line and restrained. Hourriez handled the reverse. The Banque de France printed the series despite the CCFOM's institutional independence from it.

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