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5000 Francs - Victoire type 1934 modificated, smooth cut
| Issuer | Banque de France |
|---|---|
| Year | 1938 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | P#91 |
| Obverse description | Central vignette presents an allegorical female figure personifying France in right-facing profile, wearing a laurel-leaf crown symbolic of Peace, holding an olive branch in one hand and a small winged Victory statuette in the other. The composition is enriched with decorative motifs of wheat ears, oak leaves, and olive branches in the surrounding guilloche border. The denomination 5000 appears at left and right, with the issuer's name and full value inscription integrated into the design. |
|---|---|
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| Protection type | Watermark |
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| Comments |
The "Victoire" series was among the most technically ambitious high-denomination French notes of the interwar period. The 1934 design was modified progressively through the late 1930s as the Banque de France responded to increasingly sophisticated counterfeiting attempts — the "modificated, smooth cut" variant reflects one such revision, altering the edge finish to complicate reproduction. Marguerite Dreyfus, who signed her intaglio work as "Rita," was one of the few women working at that level of engraving in French state printing during the period.
By 1938, the 5000 Franc denomination represented a very large sum in everyday French life, meaning circulation was largely confined to commercial and banking transactions rather than retail use.