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5 Francs
| Issuer | Banque de l'Algérie |
|---|---|
| Year | 1903-1925 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | The obverse presents two allegorical figures in classical intaglio style: Mercury seated at left holding a caduceus, and a female peasant figure seated at right. A central guilloche vignette carries the legal warning text regarding counterfeiting, flanked by the large denomination numeral "5" at each lower corner. The "BANQUE DE L'ALGÉRIE" heading appears at top with "CINQ FRANCS" in bold letterpress below, accompanied by an Arabic inscription overprint and the "TUNISIE" overprint at the foot of the note. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANQUE DE L'ALGÉRIE CINQ FRANCS L'ARTICLE 139 DU CODE PENAL PUNIT DES TRAVAUX FORCES A PERPETUITÉ LE CONTREFACTEUR TUNISIE CH-CABASSON INV ET DEL 1872 CH WULLSCHLEGER SC. |
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| Comments |
The Banque de l'Algérie was established in 1851 as the sole bank of issue for French Algeria, operating under a renewable privilege that tied it firmly to metropolitan financial structures rather than any locally autonomous institution. This note, spanning an issue period of over two decades, was produced at the Banque de France's own workshops in Paris — a deliberate arrangement that kept control of the colonial currency supply firmly off Algerian soil.
Wullschleger was one of the more accomplished intaglio engravers working for the Banque de France in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and the quality of the plate work here reflects that. Harang, who worked under the pseudonym Cabasson, designed across multiple French colonial issues of the period.