German East Africa was formed in 1897, it was previously a protectorate of the German government from 1884. After the First world war, Tanganyika, as it was then called, went to the British to control.the Capital of German East Africa was Dar es Salam
Monetary unit: 1 Rupie = 100 heller
This note is a 1916 emergency note issued during WWI . 1915 and 16 saw numerous issues given out. the front has the German eagle at the top left and the reverse has a purple overprint with designs and the words " Eine Rupie" across it.
The German Democratic Republic(DDR) was formed on October 7th 1949, after 3 of the 4 occupied areas of Germany were formed into the German Federal Republic (West Germany) and the Russian controlled area was formed into the DDR (East Germany). these occupied areas were the division of Germany after the second world war. the DDR continued until 3rd October 1990 when the two Germanies were reunified.
1 Mark = 100 Pfennig
The Note here is the 5 Mark note from 1975 with Thomas Muntzer on the front and a harvesting scene on the reverse.
German Cameroon (German: Kamerun) was a West African colony of the German Empire from 1884 to 1916 in the region of today's Republic of Cameroon. German Cameroon also includes northern parts of Gabon and the Congo with western parts of the Central African Republic, southwestern parts of Chad and far eastern parts of Nigeria.
At the outbreak of World War I, French, Belgian and British troops invaded the German colony in 1914 and fully occupied it during the Kamerun campaign.
Following Germany's defeat, the Treaty of Versailles divided the territory into two League of Nations mandates (Class B) under the administration of Great Britain and France. French Cameroun and part of British Cameroons reunified in 1961 as Cameroon.
Monetary units:
1 mark = 100 Pfennigs
This note is a very small note (4' x 2 1/2 ' = 100mm x 63mm ) and is a reproduction, although I didn't realize at the time, and not in my ref guide .
The Republic of Georgia is a state in Caucasus on the edge of both Europe and Asia, and was part of the USSR until 1991. It has two "de facto" independent Regions which have caused a lot of civil unrest throughout the 1990's, those being Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The Georgian Capital is Tbilisi. A resource for the Georgian alphabet is here
Monetary unit:
1 Lari = 100 Thetri ( up to 1995)
1 Lari = 1,000,000 "old" Laris ( 1995 onward)
The Note above is the 1 Lari from 1993 with a view of Tbilisi and the statue of king V. Gorgosal, and Mount Mtatzminda on the reverse.
The Republic of Gambia is a member of the British commonwealth and is situated along a thin strip of the Gambia river. it is completely surrounded by Senegal. Its capital is Banjul. Gambia gained independence from Britain in 1968.
The note is a 1 Dalasi from around 1987 , going by the signatures. The front has President Dawda Jawara,** the first president of Gambia , with people working in the fields on the reverse and a crocodiles head as the watermark.
* Lsd was the shorthand for Pounds (L), shillings (s) and Pence(d)
President Jawara studied at the Glasgow veterinary school and his mum had the wonderful name of Mamma Fatty !!
The Gabonese Republic is part of the French Community but gained its independence from France in 1960.It is on the west coast of Africa with the equator running through the country. Its Capital is Libreville. It is a member of the Central African States and previously the French Equatorial Africa.
Monetary Unit:
1 Franc = 100 centimes
The Note here is the 1000 Franc note from 1991 with President O. Bongo on the front and elephant on the reverse. The watermark is the carving on the front left
French West Africa was a federation of former french colonies on the west coast of Africa. the constituent countries were; Mauritania, Senegal, Dahomey, french Sudan, Ivory Coast, Upper Volta, Niger, French Guinea and later Togo. French West Africa was formed in 1895 and all of the people of the countries were made french citizens in 1946 and in 1956 all the countries except French Guinea agreed to become autonomous members of the new french community. French Guinea opted for full independence and became the Republic of Guinea.most of the present day independent states are members of the West African States.
French Indo-china was a french territory in south east Asia.It was established in 1887.the area included what is now Vietnam and Cambodia. In 1893 Laos was added to the region and Guangzhouwan an enclave on the coast of china, was added in 1900 .Beginning in May 1941, the Viet Minh, a communist army led by Ho Chi Minh, began a revolt against French rule known as the First Indochina War. on September 2nd 1945 north Vietnam proclaimed their independence, followed by south Vietnam in June 1949. Then Laos claimed their independence in July of that year and 4 years later in 1953 Cambodia gained its independence.
The note above is a 100 Piastres note and, like Tahiti in the previous post, it has no date but the signatures tell us that it is from between 1947 and 1954. the front has a depiction of Mercury and the reverse has some men with elephants
The French Pacific Territories include French Polynesia, New Caledonia and the New Hebrides, also it formerly included French Oceania and Tahiti.
the two notes above are 1996 1000 franc note and the 500 franc note from 1992. Both these notes have an overprint, in the bottom left of the front of the note, with the words " Republique Francaise ".
This is the 1943, 1 franc note from New Caledonia. you can see an industrial scene on the front and leaf designs and a deer's head on the reverse. It has Nouvelle Caladonie.
The New Hebrides note here is the 100 franc note from 1970. this has Nouvelles Hebrides printed twice on the front and again on the reverse.
You cant make out from the scan but this is a huge note - 3 times the size of the New Caledonia note and although it has Banque de L'indochine, its actually from Tahiti. its the 100 franc note, it has no date on it so the best we can say is that it is from the 1939-65 issue. it has the figure of Athena on the front and Angkor statue on the back.
French Equatorial Africa was an area in west central Africa made up of 4 self governing dependencies - Middle Congo, Ubangi-shari, Gabon and Chad. The area was formed in 1910 from french colonies in the area and went on until 1958 when they declared themselves autonomous republics and full independence in 1960.
The note here is the 10 Franc note from 1941 with Marianne , the symbol of France,on the front
The French republic is the largest country in western Europe and has, throughout the ages been a colonial power, which has diminished in the last few decades. It's capital city is Paris. France was and is one of the main powers behind the European Union and its common exchange currency, the Euro, which it adopted in 1999.
Monetary Units:
1 Nouveau Franc = 100 old francs (1960-62)
1 franc = 100 centimes (1962 - 2002)
1 euro = 100 cents (2002 onward)
I have said this many time before but I love French Francs. I think they are some of the most artistic of all the banknotes. what i am going to do here in this section is take the notes in order of the decades - 1940's, 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's . Usually I would only scan one side of the note if there was a lot of them to save time and space but I think these notes deserve the space!!!
So above we have 3 notes from the 1940's. first the 100 franc note from 1947. This note issued just 2 years after the second world war, has a lady on the front carrying a farm implement (hoe?)with some oxen in the background and a harbour scene on the reverse (you can just see the boat slightly off centre).
The Second note is a 20 Franc note from 1942.This note was issued during the Nazi occupation of france and right up until 1950 with varying signatures this note has a Breton fisherman with his sou'wester on. the reverse has two women with a small child with a Breton calvary to the right. This is one of my favorites, i love how everyone, even the fisherman and the child, has bright red lipstick on !!
The Third note, from 1946, is the 10 franc note. again this note was issued from 1941 - 1949. before i researched the note I thought the man on the front of the note was some sort of clergyman - a monk or a priest but it turns out that it's a French Miner!! while on the back its a farm girl with a small baby.
On to the 1960's now with this 5 franc note issued in 1967. It features Louis Pasteur on both the front and reverse, the front also has a picture of the Pasteur institute, while the reverse has medical instruments. what do you think the guy on the left of the reverse is doing? apparently he is wrestling with a Rabid dog and i'm not too sure what the bunnies are doing either!!
From the 70's comes this 10 franc note (1977). this note is dedicated to Hector Berlioz, a french 19th century romantic composer famous for his Symphonie Fantastique.
Finally, two notes from the 1990's. the first one is a 50 franc note from 1994, with the theme of Antoine de Saint-Exupery who is pictured on the right of the front side of the note and features a character from one of his books "The Little Prince" on both sides, as well as his other love being an aviator.An unusual point on this note is that the signatures are on the reverse of the note.
The second note is the 20 franc note from 1990, with this rather trendy young man on it. he is the impressionist composer Claude Debussy one of his masterpieces is depicted in the background - La Mer, (the sea)
The Republic of Finland is the second most northerly state in Europe with its capital as Helsinki.Up until 1809, Finland was a Provence and then a grand duchy of Sweden. From then until independence in 1917, it was a grand duchy of Russia 1995 saw Finland Join the European union and in 1999, joined the Euro, the only Nordic country to do so.
This is the 1 Markka note from 1963 which has wheat ears on the front ad the coat of arms on the back. as this is from 1963 it is unclear whether this is new Markka or old Markka - more research needed
The Republic of Fiji is a group of around 320 islands in the southwest pacific and is a member of the British Commonwealth. Fiji Gained independence from Britain in 1970.
the note above is the 2 dollar note from 1996 with the queen and the coat of arms on the right and on the bottom left is the wonderfully named Kaka (masked shining parrot) . the Reverse has a group of five kids in various ethnic costume, to symbolise the multi-ethnic make up of Fiji.
The Falkland Islands are a colony of the United Kingdom. Britain first established a garrison there in 1833 although the sovereignty has been disputed since the late 1700's, first with Spain and then with Argentina. In 1982 the Argentine army invaded the Falklands and a war ensued between Britain and Argentina, in which the fighting lasted for 3 months, with Britain regaining the islands. In 1990, the Argentine congress declared the Falklands and dependencies as the Provence of " Tierra del Fuego", The name has not been recognized by the islanders nor by Britain. the capital city is Port Stanley
Monetary unit: £1 = 100 pence (pegged to the Pound sterling)
The £1 here is the 1984 issue with the queen and some seals on the right and penguins on the left, the reverse is the Governor's house and church
