Condominium des Nouvelles-Hebrides
New Hebrides Condominium
(Now Vanuatu)
Institut d'emission d'outre-mer (IEOM)
(Overseas Note-Issuing Bank)
Currency - Franc (XPF)
I always have a soft spot for banknotes that have French influences for those issued prior to say 1980s or even earlier. The paper materials used by the French seems to be difference from those used by other imprinters, say like De La Rue or Giesecke+Devrient etc. Do they use difference blend of cotton and linen fibers unlike others, I don't know. I have very little or no knowledge in banknotes printing, and I have no knowledge whatsoever on what kind of paper materials do they normally use either, but if you look at those banknotes from say Indochina or those French Pacific Territories or even those Algeria (prior to independence) banknotes issued right up to the 1990s, you will know what I meant. The paper material looks very much like those ovens baking paper to me. If you place them overlapping each other, you can see a bit of transparency on the material.
Despite New Hebrides was once occupied by both the British and French jointly until its independent on 30.07.1980, all banknotes issued prior to that period were all printed both front and back with French language only. The New Hebrides banknotes were the sole responsible of IEOM, who are also responsible for printing all CFP (Change Franc Pacifique) franc banknotes for the French Overseas Collectivities French Polynesia, New Caledonia and Wallis and Futuna. The headquarter of IEOM is based in 1st Arrondissement of Paris.
Posted here are the two notes of 500 and 1000 francs. These two notes are undated, and I believed they were released around 1979 or 1980, and only 200,000 pieces were issued for each denomination. New Hebrides, now Vanuatu, did not immediately issue its own currency after independent until in 1982 with the denominations of 100, 500 and 1000 vatu. These 500 and 1000 francs posted here, have the Pick catalogue references of P19c and P20c.
Five Hundred Francs
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| Man, outrigger sailing and canoe |
Front - Image of a man with fish hanging around his neck, and holding a fish spear in his right hand over his shoulder. To his right is an outrigger sailing with a man standing next to it in shallow water, and a canoe in a coastal landscape of the Marquesas Islands (French Polynesia). Further to the left are images of fish swimming around the corals, coral polyps and other underwater flora and fauna.
Signatures
Le Directeur General - Yves Roland-Billecart (tenure 1979-1984)
Le President Du Conseil De Surveillance - Marcel Theron (tenure 1974-1979)
Watermarks - Woman "La Marianne" wearing the Phrygian cap; Capital letters "RF"
Imprinter - Banque de France
Quantity - 200,000 pieces (reportedly)
Dimensions - 151.5mm x 81.5mm
I believed these are the only two notes issued with these two signatures combination.
Back - Bearded Polynesian man from the island of Uvea on Loyalty Islands (New Caledonia), landscape rocks representing Hienghène (New Caledonia), wooden
carving at right, palms, conch shells, harpoons, branch of mangroves,
and shellfish.
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| Young Polynesian man from the island of Uvea on Loyalty Islands |
One Thousand Francs
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| Young girl, a house, coconut trees |
Front - Image of a young girl with flowers in her hair. A village home with coconut trees around.
Signatures
Le Directeur General - Yves Roland-Billecart (tenure 1979-1984)
Le President Du Conseil De Surveillance - Marcel Theron (tenure 1974-1979)
Watermarks - Woman "La Marianne" wearing the Phrygian cap; Capital letters "RF"
Imprinter - Banque de France
Quantity - 200,000 pieces (reportedly)
Dimensions - 160mm x 85mm
Back - From L-R, a white building church, bird, deer, a hut and wooden totem.
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| Church, bird, deer, hut |
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