50 Dirhams / Francs

The dual French-Arabic denomination — Francs on one face, Dirhams on the other — reflects the awkward monetary transition underway in Morocco at the time. The dirham had been abandoned in 1921 in favor of the franc, but Moroccan political pressure through the late protectorate period pushed for its symbolic restoration well before independence formally arrived in 1956. This note straddles that unresolved question.

Beltrand was among the most accomplished intaglio engravers working for the Banque de France in the mid-twentieth century, and Munier's contribution to the obverse engraving makes this a particularly well-crafted plate.