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500 Francs B.I.C. overprint
| Issuer | Banque de l'Indo-Chine |
|---|---|
| Year | 1943 |
| Type | Specimen |
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| Obverse description | Brown, red, and green intaglio print over a yellow underprint, with black serial numbers. A black rectangular B.I.C. overprint appears at upper right. The central vignette at left presents a standing female allegorical figure holding a shield and branch, with sailing ships in the upper centre vignette. A plow motif occupies the right portion alongside the watermark field, with the denomination and issuing authority inscriptions framing the composition. |
|---|---|
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| Protection description | Polynesian woman's head. |
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| Comments |
During the Japanese occupation of French Indochina, Vichy authorities retained nominal control of the colonial banking apparatus, and the Banque de l'Indo-Chine continued issuing currency with plates printed in metropolitan France — a logistical absurdity that grew increasingly untenable as the war progressed. The "B.I.C." overprint on this note was applied to distinguish reissued stock from earlier circulation, a stopgap measure reflecting the bank's constrained position between Japanese military demands and collapsing supply chains from Paris.
Gaspérini's engraving work on the obverse is among the finer intaglio examples in the colonial French series. Marguerite Dreyfus, who signed reverse work under "Rita," contributed to several Banque de France commissions of the period.