Banknote Billet France 500 francs Blaise Pascal 1992

Remarks:

Plis et froissé

The 500 francs Pascal banknote is an issue of the Banque de France belonging to the L.396 series, dating from 1992. This high face value banknote represents one of the most important denominations of French currency before the transition to the euro.

This banknote pays tribute to Blaise Pascal, a French mathematician, physicist, philosopher and theologian of the 17th century, an emblematic figure of French scientific genius. Pascal is particularly known for his work on atmospheric pressure, projective geometry and the design of one of the first calculating machines, the Pascaline.

The obverse of the banknote features a carefully crafted portrait of Blaise Pascal, accompanied by graphic elements referencing his scientific and philosophical work. The reverse also features motifs related to the scholar's work, in a composition typical of French banknotes of that era, incorporating security elements characteristic of the Banque de France's printing techniques.

The graphic design of this banknote illustrates the expertise of the Banque de France printing works, with flat colour areas, watermarks and fine details achieved through intaglio printing, a technique that gives the banknote its distinctive tactile relief. The face value of 500 francs is clearly indicated on both sides of the banknote.

This type of banknote, issued in 1992, belongs to a series that circulated in France for several years before the franc was replaced by the euro in 2002. The reference L.396 precisely identifies this issue within the Banque de France's production, with the letters and numbers corresponding to the classification codes of French banknotes used by reference numismatic and notaphilic catalogues.