Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
20 Francs German Occupation - WWII
| Issuer | Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (Luxembourg) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1940 |
| Type | Non-circulating banknote |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Blue-gray intaglio print over a multicolor underprint. Harvest vignettes flank the left and right margins, with the denomination expressed in both text and numerals at center. The note is dated 1 May 1940 and carries bilingual inscriptions in Luxembourgish and French. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | LETZEBURG 20 LUXEMBURG, LE 1 MAI 1940 ZWANZEG FRANG (Translation: Luxembourg Twenty Francs Luxembourg, May 1st., 1940) |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
When Germany occupied Luxembourg in May 1940, the existing banknote stock became an immediate administrative problem. This issue was printed by Enschedé in Haarlem before the invasion, as part of a pre-war contract, which means the plates and paper were already prepared under the Grand Duchy's legitimate authority — not under German direction.
The occupation authorities permitted continued circulation of Luxembourg franc-denominated notes rather than immediately imposing Reichsmark instruments, partly to manage civilian unrest. Luxembourg was formally annexed into the Reich in August 1942, at which point Reichsmark parity was enforced and existing franc notes were progressively withdrawn.
Enschedé's involvement is notable — the same Haarlem firm was simultaneously under German pressure regarding Netherlands currency production, making the geopolitical position of the printer in 1940 genuinely complicated.