₣500 — Five Hundred Francs
The artwork
Front: Pierre and Marie Curie share the portrait, heads close together, over a wash of turquoise, violet and gold with drawn lines of laboratory glassware behind them. Their names and dates are set in small type at the right — Marie Curie 1867-1934, Pierre Curie 1859-1906. "Banque de France" runs up the left edge, with the large 500 and "500 Cinq Cents Francs" on the white margin.
Back: The Curies at work in their shed of a laboratory on the rue Lhomond, drawn in green and gold with the roof beams and hanging lamps above them and rows of flasks below. At the lower left, a stylised atom with its looping electron orbits. The three signature panels and their titles sit on the white left margin, with the series year beneath them.
In circulation
The last 500 franc note France issued, put into circulation in 1995 in succession to the Pascal design, and dated by year of printing — 1994 on this one. It lost legal tender status on 17 February 2002 when the euro took over, the 500 franc slot passing to the 100 euro note.
Details
- CurrencyFranc (₣)
- DenominationFive Hundred Francs
- Collectedon the France journeys, 1991–2019
- IssuerBanque de France
- SeriesPierre et Marie Curie, dated 1994
- PrinterBanque de France
- SignatureLe Secrétaire Général, Le Contrôleur Général, Le Caissier Général
- Dimensions153 × 80 mm