500 Francs

The Banque du Sénégal was established by imperial decree in 1853 as one of France's colonial privilege banks, modeled closely on the Banques coloniales created for the Caribbean territories. Its note-issuing authority was tightly constrained — circulation limits were set by Paris, and the bank operated primarily out of Saint-Louis, then the administrative capital of French West Africa.

Jacques-Jean Barre was Graveur Général de la Monnaie de Paris from 1855 until his death in 1855 — his son Albert-Désiré Barre continued in that role, and attribution between the two is frequently conflated in catalog records. Which Barre actually executed the design for this series warrants scrutiny.