Banknote Billet France 200 francs Charles Montesquieu, écrivain et philosophe français 1983

Remarks:

Plis, plusieurs épinglages et salissures

The 200 francs Montesquieu banknote was issued in 1983 by the Banque de France. It belongs to series F.017 and is one of the iconic banknotes of French currency production of that era.

This banknote pays tribute to Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu, an 18th-century French writer and philosopher, best known for The Spirit of the Laws and Persian Letters. Montesquieu is recognised as one of the leading thinkers of the Enlightenment, particularly for his theory of the separation of powers, which profoundly influenced modern constitutional systems.

From a graphic standpoint, the banknote features a portrait of Montesquieu in a central position, accompanied by iconographic elements related to his work and his era. The composition employs printing techniques typical of Banque de France banknotes of this period, notably intaglio printing, which gives the note its characteristic relief and finely engraved details. The dominant colours revolve around shades of brown and green, characteristic of this issue.

The reverse of the banknote also incorporates symbolic representations linked to Enlightenment philosophy and Montesquieu's work, reinforcing the iconographic coherence of the whole. Security features specific to French banknotes of the time are integrated into its design, such as the watermark and specific printing intended to combat counterfeiting.

The face value of 200 francs made this banknote an important intermediate denomination in the French monetary system before the transition to the euro. The series F.017 allows precise identification of the print batch to which this example belongs, a key piece of information for collectors and numismatic specialists.