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 | Institut d'Émission d'Outre-Mer |
|---|---|
| Year | 1969-1992 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
| 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 | Log in to see details |
| 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 | A Melanesian fisherman in three-quarter portrait occupies the right side of the note, holding a fish, with a traditional outrigger sailing canoe set against a backdrop of dramatic rocky peaks and a coastal lagoon in the central vignette. The left margin carries an elaborate underprint of tropical marine life including reef fish, coral, and shells. Two signature lines appear below the central vignette, attributed to Le Directeur Général and Le Président du Conseil de Surveillance, with denomination numerals in corner cartouches. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A bearded Melanesian man in portrait faces right on the left side of the note, adorned with a white feather headdress and wearing traditional ornaments, with a coastal scene of a towering rock formation, palm trees, and a sandy beach in the background. To the right stands a carved Kanak totem figure, accompanied by coral and tropical flora rendered in vibrant polychrome intaglio. A decorative frieze of traditional Melanesian carved motifs runs along the top border flanking the issuer inscription. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| 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 Institut d'Émission d'Outre-Mer was the Paris-based authority that handled currency for French overseas territories after decolonization — a deliberate arrangement that kept monetary policy firmly anchored to the Banque de France rather than ceded to newly independent administrations. This note circulated across multiple Pacific territories simultaneously, including New Caledonia, French Polynesia, and Wallis and Futuna, all sharing the same issue without territory-specific overprinting.
The print run spans over two decades, which accounts for considerable variation in paper quality and ink saturation across the series. Pick 60 is the last signature variety before the denomination was redesigned in the early 1990s.