10 FRF #314

Front

Allegorical miner in work clothes and cap, representing French industrial labor during the early 1940s. The Type Mineur design was issued during World War II and the Vichy period, symbolizing the importance of coal mining to the French economy. The note bears two signatures (Marfany and Rousseau) and includes the legal warning 'LE CONTREFACTEUR SERA PUNI DES TRAVAUX FORCÉS A PERPÉTUITÉ' (counterfeiters will be punished by forced labor for life), reflecting the severity of wartime economic controls.

Back

Young woman in peasant dress holding a sickle and sheaf of wheat, representing French agriculture and rural life. The pastoral imagery balances the industrial theme of the obverse, embodying the dual pillars of the French economy during the wartime and immediate postwar period. Decorative wheat motifs frame the composition.

History

The Type Mineur series was issued by the Banque de France beginning in 1941, during the German occupation and Vichy government period of World War II. The 10 francs denomination of this series remained in production through 1949. These notes circulated during a period of economic hardship, inflation, and rationing. The design emphasizes traditional French values of labor and agriculture. The series was eventually replaced by the nouveau franc in 1960, with old francs demonetized in 1963.