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500 Francs F.C. overprint
| Issuer | Banque de l'Indo-Chine |
|---|---|
| Year | 1943 |
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| Size | 218 × 150 mm |
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| Obverse description | Brown, red, and green intaglio print over a yellow underprint, with black serial numbers. The central vignette presents a standing allegorical female figure at left holding a shield and branch, with sailing ships in the upper centre. A plow motif and watermark zone occupy the right portion of the note, while a black antelope head vignette, the date, a Cross of Lorraine, and a black 'F.C.' overprint are applied at upper right. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANQUE DE L`INDO-CHINE F. C. 1er Janvier 1943 DJIBOUTI, le 8 Mars, 1938. CINQ CENT FRANCS PAYABLES EN ESPÈCES A VUE AU PORTEUR LE PRÈSIDENT LE DIRECTEUR GÉNERAL 500 G. FRAIPONT FC E. GASPÉ SC (Translation: Bank of Indochina. January 1st, 1943. Djibouti, March 8, 1938. Five hundred francs. Payable in cash to bearer. The president, the general director.) |
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| Comments |
The "F.C." overprint — standing for "France Continentale" — was applied to distinguish notes intended for metropolitan France from those circulating in the colonies, a administrative partition that reflected the fractured monetary geography of Vichy-era French territories. The Banque de France pressed its own facilities into service for Indochinese currency production after the fall of France severed normal supply chains to Saigon.
Gaspérini's engraving on the obverse is competent professional work from the Banque de France atelier. Dreyfus, who signed her reverse engraving as "Rita," was among the few women working at that level in French intaglio printing at the time.