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20 Francs / 4 Ariary
| Issuer | Government of Madagascar and Dependencies |
|---|---|
| Year | 1917 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 20 Francs |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is framed by a gilt decorative border with ornamental corner motifs and a light guilloche underprint throughout the field. Two circular vignettes of Hercules-type 5-franc coin escutcheons are positioned side by side at center-left, flanking a central text block in Malagasy script that provides the legal tender declaration and penalty clause under Article 139 of the Penal Code for counterfeiting. The denomination ARIARY EFATRA is set in large bold type above the text panel, below the colonial heading. |
| Reverse lettering | COLONIE DE MADAGASCAR ET DEPENDANCES Salaha vidy amin'ny ARIARY EFATRA Araky ny toko faha - 139 Code Pénal dia atao an-tranomaizina sady ampiasaina mafy ny olona iray mangalatahaka na manao an-kosoka ny taratasim'bala avaokan'ny banques neken'ny fanjakana, ary koa izay mampiasa taratasim'bola sandoko ny irany. |
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| Comments |
Madagascar's early French colonial notes occupy a peculiar administrative niche — the island was governed separately from French West Africa and required its own issue authority. This 1917 note predates the establishment of the Banque de Madagascar by over a decade; the issuing body here was the colonial government itself acting in the absence of a proper banking institution, an arrangement that was always intended as temporary but persisted far longer than planned.
The dual denomination — Francs alongside Ariary — reflects a practical concession to the Malagasy monetary tradition. The ariary was an indigenous unit of account long embedded in local commerce, and ignoring it would have complicated trade outside the capital.
WWI shipping disruptions made resupply of printed currency from France unreliable, which partly explains why emergency government-issued notes like this one remained in use well into the postwar period.