Types › French Indochina
10 cents Indochinese piastre #254
Issue of 1939
(1939–1945)
· P-85c
· common
Type details
| Country | French Indochina |
| Currency | Indochinese piastre |
| Denomination | 10 cents |
| Series | Issue of 1939 |
| Series year | 1939 |
| Series range | 1939–1945 |
| Issuer | Government General of Indochina |
| Issuer (native) | Gouvernement Général de l'Indochine |
| Signatures | Le Trésorier Général: [illegible]; Le Directeur des Finances: [illegible] |
| Printer | IDEO-Hanoi |
| Reverse subject | Rice stalks |
| Themes | agriculture,architecture |
| Security features | microprint |
| Colour palette | #d4c5a0,#8b7355,#f5e6d3 |
| Material | paper |
| Dimensions (mm) | 100x65 |
| Language / script | Latin, Vietnamese, Lao, Chinese |
| Languages | fr,vi,lo,zh |
| Pick # | P-85c |
| Rarity | common |
| Legal status | demonetized |
| Legal status date | 1945 |
| Successor currency | Vietnamese đồng / Lao kip / Cambodian riel |
| Era | 1900_1945 |
| Default value (low) | 5.0 |
| Default value (high) | 15.0 |
| Value currency | USD |
Front
Stylized eagle or garuda-like mythical bird design at center with spread wings, holding a circular medallion containing '10 CENTS' and the date 'ND 8.5.2478' in Thai Buddhist Era calendar. The note is inscribed 'GOUVERNEMENT GÉNÉRAL DE L'INDOCHINE' (Government General of Indochina) across the top, with signature titles 'LE TRÉSORIER GÉNÉRAL' (The General Treasurer) at left and 'LE DIRECTEUR DES FINANCES' (The Director of Finance) at right. The denomination 'DIX CENTS' appears at the bottom. The printer name 'PHAM-NGOC-KHUÊ' appears at lower left and 'IDEO-HANOI' at lower right, indicating printing in Hanoi. Decorative geometric patterns frame the note.
Back
Rice stalks (two bundles) flanking a central anti-counterfeiting warning text in French. The text reads 'L'ART. 139 DU CODE PÉNAL PUNIT DES TRAVAUX FORCÉS À PERPÉTUITÉ CEUX QUI AURONT CONTREFAIT OU FALSIFIÉ LES BILLETS ÉMIS PAR LE TRÉSOR PUBLIC' (Article 139 of the Penal Code punishes with forced labor for life those who counterfeit or falsify notes issued by the Public Treasury). The denomination appears as 'MỘT HÀO' (Vietnamese), '90' (Lao script), and Chinese characters '壹毫' in the corners, representing the multilingual nature of French Indochina. Geometric border patterns surround the design.
History
This 10 cents fractional currency note was issued by the Government General of French Indochina during the late colonial period, part of the Issue of 1939 series that circulated from 1939 until the end of World War II in 1945. French Indochina comprised modern-day Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. The note features multilingual text reflecting the diverse territories: French (official colonial language), Vietnamese (MỘT HÀO = one hào/10 cents), Lao numerals, and Chinese characters. The printer IDEO-Hanoi (Imprimerie d'Extrême-Orient) was the government printing facility in Hanoi. Following Japanese occupation during WWII and subsequent independence movements, French Indochina dissolved in 1954, with these notes replaced by separate national currencies. The Buddhist Era date 2478 corresponds to 1935 CE, though this series continued printing into the early 1940s.
