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5 Dollars / 5 Piastres - Haïphong
| Issuer | Banque de l'Indo-Chine |
|---|---|
| Year | 1900 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | A classical allegorical vignette at left centre shows Neptune reclining with a trident, accompanied by sea creatures in an intaglio-engraved composition rendered in red-brown tones. Two large circular punch-holes cancel the note, which bears the bilingual denomination FIVE DOLLARS / CINQ PIASTRES in bold letterpress at centre and the Haiphong branch designation above. An ANNULE cancellation stamp is applied diagonally across the face. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in red-brown intaglio and carries a central band of Chinese characters flanked by two large circular cancellation punch-holes. A dragon vignette appears at the right margin, and the text BANQUE DE L'INDO-CHINE repeats in a guilloche-style underprint band across the lower portion. The engravers' credits appear in small letterpress at the lower left, and an ANNULE cancellation stamp is applied diagonally. |
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| Comments |
The Banque de l'Indo-Chine was chartered by the French state in 1875 primarily to finance colonial trade, not to serve a broad public — and this Haïphong-payable note reflects that purpose directly. Haïphong was the principal port of Tonkin and the commercial throat of northern Indochina; a note denominated there was a trading instrument, not pocket money.
Bramtot and Duval were both staff artists at the Imprimerie nationale in Paris, and Wullschleger's engraving work for the series is among the finer intaglio production the colonial note world saw at the turn of the century. The Haïphong place-of-payment designation was printed into the plate itself, making these notes non-interchangeable with the concurrent Saigon issues of the same denomination.