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500 Francs - Pierre & Marie Curie type 1993
| Issuer | Banque de France |
|---|---|
| Year | 1994-2000 |
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| In circulation to | 17 February 2012 |
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| Obverse description | Joint portrait vignette of Pierre and Marie Curie at centre, rendered in intaglio. To their left, a glass bulb containing radium salts is illustrated, self-luminous in its phosphorescence; superimposed graphical probability curves from Marie Curie's research on the effects of X-rays on bacilli appear in red underprint. At upper left, a vignette of 'les petites Curie' — the mobile radiological vehicles deployed by Marie Curie during World War I — is visible within the watermark zone, while a small tactile triangle for the visually impaired appears above four circular motifs symbolising the subatomic world. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A detailed intaglio vignette reproduces the chemistry laboratory of the Measurement Services at the Radium Institute, established on 20 January 1914, rendered with fine guilloche work in the background. Below the watermark zone, the full text of the relevant articles of the Penal Code, brought into force on 1 March 1994, is typeset in small letterpress across the lower portion of the note. |
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| Comments |
Roger Pfund's design for this series was notably unconventional by Banque de France standards — the Swiss graphic designer brought a deliberately modernist aesthetic that divided opinion when the note entered circulation in 1994. It was among the last French franc notes issued before the euro transition rendered the entire series obsolete, with franc banknotes ceasing to be legal tender in February 2002.
Four distinct signature combinations exist across the print run, making date-signature matching worth attention for a complete type collection. The 2000-dated examples with the Barroux/Bonnardin/Vienney combination saw the shortest issue window.