French and French-Printed Banknotes, their Artists and Issuing Authorities; Reference Links

Thanks

Images of these banknotes are from Dave Mills and Madison, two avid collectors and researchers of the area.

Huge thanks for Scott Guye for providing much of the translation of this site to French.

Abbreviations and Icons Used

INV: (Latin: invenit, French: a inventé) the original artist
DEL: (Latin: delineavit, French: a dessiné), producer of the definitive sketch of the design
SC: (Latin: sculpsit, French: a sculpté), engraver of the plate (or other medium for printing)
FEC: (Latin: fecit, French: a fait), "he made it" - a broader term used when one person has the role of both INV and DEL

Imp: Imprimerie, printing house

The terms Relief, Intaglio, Lithography and Offset may be mentioned with reference to the printing technique used for a particular banknote. See The Creation of a French Banknote for details of these printing methods.

ND: No Date listed on banknote

(F): Face of note
(B): Back of note

	Micro-printing detail, often used on banknotes as a security device.
	Ultraviolet image, another security device; these images were photographed under UV light.
	Watermark detail, another security device.

Catalogs and Reference Documents

France: Les Billets Française de la Banque de France et du Tresor 1800-2002 (F), by Claude Fayette

France Assignats: Les Assignats de la Révolution Française by Maurice Muszynski

Catalogue général des assignats français, detailed information on French assignats, by Jean-Luc Buathier

France: Les Billets Française de la Banque de France, by Maryse Souque et al, published by the Banque de France

France: Trois Siecles de Billets Français, by Michel Daspre

France Chamber of Commerce: Les Billets des Chambres de Commerce (Pir), by Jean Pirot

France Tresor: Les Billets Française du Trésor by Jean Paul Vannier & Claude Fayette, Pub. Claude Fayette

French Indochina (Indochina, Djibouti, French Polynesia, New Caledonia, New Hebrides): Les Billets de la Banque de l'Indochine by Maurice Kolsky and Maurice Muszynski, Pub. Victor Gadoury

West African States: The Many Varieties of West African States Banknotes, by Weldon D. Burson

World: Standard Catalog of World Paper Money (P, two volumes for General and Modern Issues), Krause

Wiki: Both the French and English versions of Wikipedia have provided useful content to this site on monetary systems, banks, and artists.

Printing Firms

See The Emergence of Modern Business Enterprise in France, 1800-1930 by Michael Smith for interesting reading on printing in France.

BdF: Banque de France, founded in 1800 at the time of modernization of France's banking and finance systems. BdF has printed all banknotes for France other than during occupation.

FCO: François-Charles Oberthür, French printing firm producing modern banknotes including many for African states alongside Banque de France.

Forbes: Forbes Lithograph Manufacturing Co, Boston MA, USA

DuPont et Cie: French "Industrial" publishing/print shop, opened in 1818 as a low cost book printing firm, with facilities in Paris and Clichy.

Chaix, Paris: Founded by Napoleon Chaix after leaving DuPont in 1945.

DLR: Thomas De La Rue, English printing firm, printed some of the French occupation notes.

BWC: Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. English printing firm, printed some notes for the French Colonies.

Banks and Economic Statistics

The CIA World Factbook

The Global History of Currencies

References

Thanks

Abbreviations and Icons Used

Catalogs and Reference Documents

Printing Firms

Banks and Economic Statistics

Links

Professional Organizations

Banknote Galleries

Catalogs & Supplies

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