₣5 — Five Francs
The artwork
Front: Louis Pasteur in dark coat and bow tie, bearded and grey, gazing past the reader — the chemist of fermentation, pasteurisation and the rabies vaccine. To the right, the Institut Pasteur in Paris, its brick and stone pavilion set behind a curving drive and clipped shrubs. The whole is framed in a Gothic border of vine leaves and grape bunches, a quiet nod to Pasteur's work on wine. "Banque de France" above, "Cinq Francs" below, with "5" in both upper corners and the date E.5-6-1969.E.
Back: Pasteur at right, bearded and severe, above a laboratory bench of flasks, test tubes, a microscope and coiled glass tubing. At left, the sculpted group of the shepherd boy Jupille wrestling the rabid wolf, taken from the Pasteur monument. The foliate border carries sheep, rabbits and poultry — the animals of his anthrax, rabies and fowl-cholera work — with BANQUE DE FRANCE on a ribbon and the counterfeiting clause beneath.
In circulation
A Bank of France issue of the later 1960s, printed with dates from 1966 into 1970 and the last five-franc note France put into circulation. The five-franc coin took over the denomination at the turn of the decade, and the paper was steadily drawn back in over the 1970s.
Details
- CurrencyFranc (₣)
- DenominationFive Francs
- Collectedon the France journeys, 1991–2019
- IssuerBanque de France
- Series5 Francs Pasteur, dated E.5-6-1969.E.
- WatermarkHead of Louis Pasteur
- SecurityPenal clause printed on the back, threatening life imprisonment for counterfeiting or passing false notes
- SignatureThree: Caissier Général, Contrôleur Général and Secrétaire Général