Banknote Billet France 500 francs Blaise Pascal 1981

Remarks:

Plis, multiple épinglages et salissures

The 500 francs Pascal banknote is an issue of the Banque de France dated January 8, 1981, belonging to series U.128. It is a banknote with a face value of 500 francs, one of the most significant denominations of the period preceding the introduction of the euro in France.

This banknote pays tribute to Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), a French mathematician, physicist, philosopher and theologian, a major figure of the 17th century. His likeness is depicted on this note, reflecting the French tradition of honouring great scientists and thinkers on its banknotes.

The Pascal type was put into circulation by the Banque de France from 1968 and was used until the early 1990s. This banknote displays the graphic characteristics typical of issues from that era, with an elaborate artistic composition blending Pascal's portrait with elements evoking his scientific and literary work, including references to the arithmetic machine he invented and his work on projective geometry.

The dominant colours of the banknote are shades of green and brown, complemented by security patterns characteristic of French banknote production of this period. The obverse features the portrait of Blaise Pascal accompanied by decorative elements, while the reverse develops a complementary iconographic composition related to the scholar's work.

Series U.128 allows this banknote to be precisely identified within the Banque de France's production. The banknote weighs 1 gram and is printed on fiduciary paper, the traditional medium for French monetary issues of this generation. This banknote now belongs to the field of numismatics and the collection of 20th-century French banknotes.