25 francs 1949
Market Prices
27 salesAbout This Note
This is a French West Africa 25 francs note dated 29 June 1949, issued by the Banque de l'Afrique Occidentale. The note is graded in Fine condition and displays the characteristic colonial-era design featuring an African woman in traditional dress with beaded necklace on the obverse and two additional African figures in traditional attire on the reverse, all surrounded by decorative palm frond and botanical border elements. The note exhibits moderate circulation wear with visible creasing, foxing, and age-related yellowing consistent with its 75+ year age, making it a representative example of this denomination from the early post-war French colonial currency period.
Common. The eBay price tracking data shows consistent sales of this note in Fine condition ranging from $4.38 to $27.55 over a decade-long period, with most Fine examples selling between $6 and $16. These modest, stable prices indicate strong supply in the market. The PMG population report does not indicate extreme scarcity for this Pick number. The 25 francs denomination from 1949 was a regular circulation issue with substantial print runs typical of French colonial currency, and examples remain readily available to collectors.
This note was issued during the final years of French West African colonial currency, specifically in 1949, four years before the Banque de l'Afrique Occidentale ceased operations in 1955. The designs prominently feature portraits of African peoples in traditional dress with beaded necklaces and indigenous botanical elements (palm fronds, tropical vegetation), reflecting the colonial visual language of the period that emphasized 'native' cultural imagery while reinforcing French imperial authority through the bank's name and French text. The legal warning on the reverse about counterfeiting penalties under Article 139 of the French Penal Code underscores the metropolitan French legal framework governing colonial West African finance.
The obverse features a right-facing profile portrait of an African woman wearing traditional beaded necklace and dress, positioned on the right side of the note. The left side contains decorative palm frond designs and spaces for official signatures including positions for 'The President' and 'The General Director.' The denomination '25' appears in both upper corners, with 'VINGT CINQ FRANCS' spelled out on the left margin. The reverse displays two African figures depicted in profile—one on the left and one on the right facing left—both wearing traditional attire. The entire note is framed by elaborate botanical and floral border decorations featuring tropical vegetation, palm fronds, and geometric corner patterns. The overall color scheme consists of warm tones: beige, tan, brown, olive green, and pink accents. Serial number components include both numeric (994) and alphanumeric (Z.5701) elements, with engraver marks identifying Laurent and Chapon as the artistic contributors.
FRONT SIDE: '25' (denomination numeral); 'BANQUE DE L'AFRIQUE OCCIDENTALE' (Bank of West Africa); '994' (serial number component); '29-6-1949' (date: 29 June 1949); 'Z.5701' (serial number); 'VINGT CINQ FRANCS' (Twenty Five Francs); 'LE PRÉSIDENT' (The President); 'LE DIRECTEUR GÉNÉRAL' (The General Director); 'SEB. LAURENT FEC.' (Engraver mark: Sébastien Laurent fecit/made); 'A. CHAPON SC.' (Engraver mark: A. Chapon sculpsit/engraved). BACK SIDE: '25' (denomination numeral, appears twice); 'BANQUE DE L'AFRIQUE OCCIDENTALE' (Bank of West Africa); 'L'ARTICLE 139 DU CODE PÉNAL PUNIT DES TRAVAUX FORCÉS CEUX QUI AURAIENT CONTREFAIT OU FALSIFIÉ LES BILLETS DE BANQUES AUTORISÉES PAR LA LOI' (Article 139 of the Penal Code punishes with forced labor those who would have counterfeited or falsified banknotes authorized by law).
Intaglio engraving (relief printing from engraved steel plates), evidenced by the crisp portrait rendering, fine line work in the decorative borders, and the intricate detail of the botanical elements. The multiple engraver signatures (SEB. LAURENT FEC. and A. CHAPON SC.) confirm the traditional hand-engraved plate technique standard for high-security banknote production. The Banque de l'Afrique Occidentale typically employed the Banque de France's security printing facilities or contracted with established European security printers specializing in intaglio production.
This specific note is dated 29 June 1949 with serial number Z.5701 and internal serial component 994. The PMG catalog notes two variants for this base Pick number (P-38 and P-38s), distinguished by watermark type (Woman's Head watermark for both), though the distinction between these variants is not visually apparent from the images provided. The note does not display obvious overprints, signature varieties beyond the standard engraver marks, or other distinguishing characteristics that would indicate a scarce sub-variety. This appears to be a standard regular issue example from the 1949 printing.
