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50 Centimes
| Issuer | Gouvernement Général de l'Afrique Occidentale Française (AOF) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1917 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 Centimes (0.50) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | The obverse of this emergency bon de caisse is dominated by the large red underprint denomination '0 FR. 50', above which a serial number with letter prefix is printed. Two circular vignettes flank the central field: the left reproduces the obverse of a 50 Centimes coin, and the right carries the Semeuse motif from French Republic coinage. The upper legend reads 'GOUVERNEMENT GÉNÉRAL DE L'A. O. F.' and 'SOUDAN FRANÇAIS', with signature lines below for the Trésorier-Payeur and the Lieutenant-Gouverneur, the whole enclosed within an ornamental typeset border. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | GOUVERNEMENT GÉNÉRAL DE L'A. O. F. SOUDAN FRANÇAIS 0 FR. 50 Le Trésorier-Payeur Le Lt-Gouverneur |
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| Comments |
The Gouvernement Général de l'AOF issued these emergency fractional notes in 1917 because the wartime metal shortage had effectively stripped small-denomination coins from circulation across French West Africa. The colonial administration needed a stopgap, and Chaix — better known as a commercial and poster printer than a security printing house — was pressed into service, which goes some way toward explaining the relatively modest execution compared to Banque de France issues of the same period.
P#A1 designates the earliest catalogued note for this issuer. The AOF series was short-lived; metallic coinage returned to circulation as conditions stabilized, and most of these notes were withdrawn and destroyed rather than retained.