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20 Francs
| Issuer | Banque de l'Indochine |
|---|---|
| Year | 1941 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Lilac-brown intaglio note based on the New Caledonia P-37 type, with a female portrait wearing a floral wreath at right, engraved by Ernest Deloche after Clément Serveau's design. A red oval overprint inscribed NOUVELLES HÉBRIDES / FRANCE LIBRE, incorporating palm trees and the Cross of Lorraine, distinguishes this issue for the New Hebrides. Bank name, denomination, and place of payment appear in letterpress above and below the central vignette. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Multicolour reverse engraved by Marguerite Dreyfus (Rita) after Roque's design, centred on a full-bodied peacock perched on a gnarled rocky outcrop amid flowering branches. Several swallowtail butterflies are scattered across the composition — one at upper left among the foliage, one at lower left, and two at right flanking the denomination panel — all set against a geometric lattice underprint in pale yellow. The large numeral "20" and abbreviation "FR" in deep blue occupy a framed cartouche at centre-right, with a scroll bearing the penal code warning inscription at lower right. |
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| Comments |
By 1941, Banque de France was printing currency for French Indochina under Vichy-era administrative arrangements, with the colony nominally under French control despite Japanese military occupation. This note was engraved by Ernest Deloche on the obverse and Marguerite Dreyfus — known professionally as Rita — on the reverse, the latter being one of the few women to hold a senior engraving position at the Banque de France during that period.
The Clément Serveau design credit on the obverse links this issue to a broader interwar series aesthetic he developed for French colonial notes through the 1930s and into the occupation years.