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20 Cents
| Issuer | Banque de l'Indo-Chine |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920-1923 |
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| Printer | Imprimerie Chaix, Paris, France (1845-1965) |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANQUE DE L'INDO-CHINE 20 CENTS PAYABLES AU PORTEUR EN INDO-CHINE EN ESPÈCES G. FRAIPONT |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in a single purple tone and carries an elaborate letterpress border composed of paired pilasters with foliate capitals flanking a broad horizontal floral guilloche frieze at the top. The central text field presents the authorising decree reference DÉCRET DU 3 AVRIL 1901 and the emission authorisation date ÉMISSION AUTORISÉE LE 6 OCTOBRE 1919, followed by the full anti-counterfeiting legal warning in French. The numeral 20 appears in plain panels on each side, and the imprint G. FRAIPONT and CHAIX. PARIS are present in the lower corners. |
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| Comments |
Banque de l'Indo-Chine issued fractional paper currency during this period largely because the region's silver coinage — particularly the Piastre — was being hoarded or exported as bullion, leaving everyday small transactions without a practical medium of exchange. The 20 Cents note was an emergency response to that gap, not a planned denomination.
Imprimerie Chaix was primarily a commercial and poster printer; its association with Gustave Fraipont, a prolific Belle Époque illustrator, reflects the firm's artistic rather than strictly security-printing background. That provenance makes the series somewhat unusual among colonial currency of the period.