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0,50 Franc
| Issuer | Gouvernement de Mohéli |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
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| Currency | Franc (1914-1931) |
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| Obverse description | The face of this emergency issue consists of a brown French colonial postage stamp of the Groupe Allégorique type, engraved after Mouchon's design, with two allegorical figures — Commerce seated at left and Navigation at right — flanking a central cartouche bearing the denomination numeral '50' in red. The inscription 'REPVBLIQVE FRANÇAISE / COLONIES / POSTES' appears across the upper portion, with 'MOHÉLI' lettered in red along the lower tablet. The stamp has been affixed as the note's principal vignette, reflecting the notgeld practice of utilizing available postal material as an emergency currency medium. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | REPVBLIQVE FRANÇAISE COLONIES POSTES 50 MOHÉLI MOUCHON |
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| Comments |
Mohéli — the smallest of the Comoro Islands — had a population of a few thousand and no banking infrastructure when this note was issued. The Gouvernement de Mohéli series of 1920 represents one of the most geographically obscure French colonial currency experiments in the Indian Ocean, a local paper substitute produced at a moment when small coinage was essentially unavailable across French overseas territories during the post-WWI metal shortage.
Mouchon is best known for his work on French postage stamps, including the celebrated 1900 Mouchon type. His involvement here almost certainly reflects reused or adapted artwork rather than a fresh commission for a tiny colonial administration.