Madagascar was under full French colonial administration by 1916, and this note was issued not by a bank but directly by the colonial government — an arrangement forced by the near-total absence of small-denomination coinage in circulation. The "and Dependencies" in the issuer name formally included the Comoros and other Indian Ocean territories under French control from the island.
Government-issued fractional notes of this type were a wartime stopgap. Metal had been redirected toward the French war effort, leaving colonies to paper over the gap with low-value emergency emissions. Few survived in collectable condition given their heavy everyday use.
Madagascar was under full French colonial administration by 1916, and this note was issued not by a bank but directly by the colonial government — an arrangement forced by the near-total absence of small-denomination coinage in circulation. The "and Dependencies" in the issuer name formally included the Comoros and other Indian Ocean territories under French control from the island.
Government-issued fractional notes of this type were a wartime stopgap. Metal had been redirected toward the French war effort, leaving colonies to paper over the gap with low-value emergency emissions. Few survived in collectable condition given their heavy everyday use.