Banknote Billet France 100 francs René Descartes 1942

Remarks:

2 troues, coupures et salissures

The 100 francs Descartes banknote is a French banknote issued in 1942, during the Occupation period, under the authority of the Banque de France. It belongs to series B.3 and has a face value of 100 francs.

This banknote pays tribute to René Descartes (1596-1650), a French philosopher, mathematician and physicist, regarded as one of the fathers of modern philosophy and Western rationalism. His major work, the Discourse on the Method, as well as his fundamental contributions to mathematics, notably analytic geometry, justified his presence on this iconic banknote of the period.

From a graphic standpoint, the banknote features the portrait of René Descartes as the central element of the composition, in keeping with the iconographic conventions used by the Banque de France during this period. The artistic design of this type of banknote, characteristic of French productions from the first half of the 20th century, employs fine engraving techniques and printing typical of the Banque de France workshops, with ornamental and typographic details specific to that era.

This banknote is set within a particular historical context, that of France under German Occupation, during which the Banque de France continued to issue franc banknotes, thus maintaining a national monetary circulation. Series B.3 constitutes a classification element allowing precise identification of the issuance tranche within the overall production of this type of banknote.

In terms of conservation and numismatic study, this banknote is representative of French monetary papyrology from World War II, a period during which French fiduciary production reflects the economic and political constraints of the time. Its weight is 1 gram, characteristic of banknotes of this generation.