₣100 — One Hundred Francs
The artwork
Front: Eugène Delacroix, named in small capitals above his shoulder, set against his own canvas: Liberty Leading the People. The bare-breasted figure of Liberty strides forward with the tricolour raised, a boy beside her with pistol and cap, a bayonet and musket crossing the right edge. Below the painter's neckerchief lie his brushes and the curve of a palette, with the date 1986 and BANQUE DE FRANCE in red.
Back: Delacroix again, larger and facing front in dark coat and white collar, standing among bare winter trees with Paris rooftops, railings and chimneys worked up behind him in browns and dull reds. A clenched hand at the lower left grips a long staff running diagonally across the design. The counterfeiting warning, article 139 of the penal code, sits in a panel at bottom right.
In circulation
The Delacroix hundred served as France's workhorse note from the late 1970s through the mid-1990s, printed with successive dates — this one 1986. It gave way to the 100 francs Cézanne of the final franc series, and ceased to be legal tender ahead of the euro changeover.
Details
- CurrencyFranc (₣)
- DenominationOne Hundred Francs
- Collectedon the France journeys, 1991–2019
- IssuerBanque de France
- Series100 Francs Delacroix, dated 1986; serial prefix Y.107
- SignatureLe Secrétaire Général, Le Contrôleur Général and Le Caissier Général
- WatermarkHead of Delacroix, in the plain panel at the right
- Dimensions172 × 92 mm