MAROC - Unseen proof of 5 francs type 1921
Find a small error on this note...
News by Jan. 10, 2023
- onMoroccan banknotes are magnificent. Their graphics and their colors cannot leave indifferent the banknote collectors that we are.
I have the chance today to present to you a banknote that I had never seen before.
This is arecto/verso proof of the 5 francs type 1921.
Already the issued banknote is quite rare. Be careful, do not confuse it with its cousin which looks a lot like it, the 5 francs type 1924, which is very common!
Type 1921 features the "Banque d'Etat du Maroc" on a single line and has no number at the top.
So let's come back on our proof note...
The back is identical to the course banknote.
Looking at this note carefully:
- If you're a beginner (welcome!), you won't notice anything.
- If you are an experimented collector, you notice 1 thing.
- If you are an expert on Moroccan banknotes, you should notice 2 things!
If you are an experimented collect, you notice 1 thing.happy owner of this banknote, Shama, who already has a fine collection and who gave us the pleasure of sharing this unpublished banknote with us.
Yes ! This note bears the mention "Payable à vue au porteur" (Payable at sight to Bearer) but this mention does not exist on the course note !
Here is a course note sold by the CGB.fr (small alphabet). The bank therefore deleted this mention in the final version. But they kept it for the 5 francs type 1922.
Okay, then...
then the second thing...
There is a spelling mistake! the adjective "payable" should have a S at the end ! They should have written "5 francs payables" with an S.
Just look at the few Moroccan banknotes that show this mention to notice it.
- Maroc - 5 francs type 1922
- Maroc - 10 francs type 1920
- Maroc - 100 francs type 1920
- Maroc - 500 francs type 1923
Let's go further with this mention "Payable at sight to bearer".
Imagine that in the early days of paper money, these small paper bills replaced metal coins that inherently held some value. So to obtain the confidence of the people, the bank put this mention.
But not all banks have always used the same wording.
Here is a small anthology concerning the bank of Martinique:
- Martinique - 100 francs 1922
- Martinique - 500 francs 1933 (version 1)
- Martinique - 500 francs 1933 (version 2)
- Martinique - 1000 francs 1942 (impression US)
- Martinique - 1000 francs 1943 (impression US)
The Banque de France, on the other hand, is more rigorous. Always the same mention:
- France - 1000 francs Flameng 1897 - not issued
- France - 100 francs Luc Olivier Merson 1908
- France - 3000 francs 1938 not issued
Now let's get back to our new proof, it's not perfored ! Indeed, the few specimens that we know were perforated with the name of the printer (CHAIX printing in Paris). That's why this banknote is very remarkable !
Here is a small series of specimen, notice the perforations...
Here, I think we have covered this magnificent proof of the 5 Moroccan francs type 1921.
Thanks Shama. Congratulations on this note which has a nice place in your collection.
Goodbye
Olivier
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