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100 Piastres
| Issuer | Banque de l'Indo-Chine |
|---|---|
| Year | 1925 |
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| Reference(s) | P#20 |
| Obverse description | An allegorical standing female figure in classical dress and a richly attired Asian man are positioned at right, framed by ornate Art Nouveau foliage and architectural columns, with a large guilloche underprint surrounding the denomination numeral "100" at centre. The bank title "BANQUE DE L'INDO-CHINE" appears in a panel across the top, with the date and place of issue "HAIPHONG, le 1er Septembre 1925" below the denomination, above the bearer clause "PAYABLES EN ESPÈCES A VUE AU PORTEUR". Two signature panels for "UN ADMINISTRATEUR" and "L'ADMINISTRATEUR-DIRECTEUR" appear at lower centre, with serial number and control letter in the four corners. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANQUE DE L'INDO-CHINE 100 HAIPHONG CENT PIASTRES PAYABLES EN ESPÈCES A VUE AU PORTEUR h. Bellery-Desfontaines del. L. Ruffe SC. |
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| Comments |
The Banque de l'Indo-Chine's 100 Piastres series printed by the Banque de France represents one of the more technically accomplished colonial issues of the interwar period — Ruffe and Gaspérini were both staff engravers at the Banque de France whose work appeared across multiple sovereign and colonial issues simultaneously. Bellery-Desfontaines, primarily known as a poster and decorative arts illustrator, died in 1909, meaning his designs were adapted posthumously from earlier artwork rather than commissioned specifically for this note.
The piastre at this date was still pegged to the French franc at a fixed rate set in 1895 — a peg that would cause serious economic distortions when France devalued in the 1930s.