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1 Franc
| Issuer | Régence de Tunis |
|---|---|
| Year | 1918 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Franc |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Red and cream note with ornate guilloche border frame. The denomination 'UN FRANC' appears in large bold letters within a dark banner at top centre, with 'RÉGENCE DE TUNIS' above and bilingual text in French and Arabic throughout. The decree date 'Decret du 4 Novembre 1918 / 29 Moharem 1337' is printed centrally, with series and serial number flanking it, two manuscript signatures below for the Trésorier Général de Tunisie and the Directeur Général des Finances, and a counterfeiting warning in both French and Arabic at the foot, above the imprint 'PROTECTORAT FRANÇAIS'. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Printed entirely in red on cream paper, the reverse carries a dense fine-line guilloche underprint across the entire field. A central circular vignette bears the official seal of the Protectorat Français de Tunis with an ornate wreath surround. 'RÉGENCE DE TUNIS' appears in a panel at top centre, 'PROTECTORAT FRANÇAIS' at the foot, and 'DIRECTION GÉNÉRALE DES FINANCES' is repeated vertically in large letters along both the left and right margins. |
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| Comments |
The Direction Générale des Finances stepped in as note issuer during the First World War precisely because the Banque de l'Algérie — the usual currency authority for the Protectorate — could not adequately supply small-denomination paper to Tunisia's markets. Metal coinage had been hoarded or melted, and the gap at the low end of daily commerce was acute by 1917–18.
Printed entirely in Tunis by a collaboration between Weber's lithographic house and the Yvorpa, Barlier & Clavé press, this is a locally produced emergency note in every sense — conception, execution, and distribution all handled within the Protectorate rather than routed through metropolitan France. The P#43 series is notoriously prone to foxing and edge fraying, a consequence of the low-grade wartime paper stock used.