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!
50 Cents
| Issuer | Banque de l'Indo-Chine |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920-1923 |
| Type | Standard circulation 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 | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANQUE DE L'INDO-CHINE 50 CENTS PAYABLES AU PORTEUR EN INDO-CHINE EN ESPÈCES Un Administrateur L'Administrateur Directeur G. FRAIPONT |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | DÉCRET DU 3 AVRIL 1901 Émission autorisée le 6 Octobre 1919. L'article 139 du Code pénal punit des travaux forcés à perpétuité ceux qui auront contrefait ou falsifié les Billets de Banques autorisées par la Loi, ainsi que ceux qui auront fait usage de ces Billets contrefaits ou falsifiés. G. FRAIPONT CHAIX. PARIS |
| 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 |
The Banque de l'Indo-Chine issued this fractional note to address a chronic small-change shortage that plagued Indochina throughout the early 1920s — a problem partly caused by the hoarding of metal coinage during and after the First World War. Paper fractions below one piastre were a practical stopgap rather than a considered monetary instrument, and the 50 Cent denomination was among the lowest the bank ever printed on paper.
Imprimerie Chaix was a Paris commercial printer better known for railway timetables and posters than for security printing — an unusual choice that reflects the ad hoc nature of the issue. Gustave Fraipont, whose design credit appears on the plate, was primarily an illustrator and poster artist of the Belle Époque.