Five thousand francs Flameng

This banknote is considered by most experts ^{[2] to be the} “most beautiful French banknote”. The history of its creation is a unique case.

In 1891 a new four-color banknote printing range was introduced at the Bank of France. Until then, banknotes were printed in only two colors. The design of the banknotes of 50 and 100 francs was made by artist , whose models will eventually be rejected in favor of sketches by Luc-Olivier Merson . The design for the 1000 francs banknote was developed this time by the artist Francois Flameng , this design reproduces a series of drawings in grisaille , then in four colors, whose project was adopted in 1896. But, oddly enough, 1000 francs, conceived by the artist Flameng, were not printed under this name, and the design of the banknote was altered for the 5,000 francs note of 1918. Meanwhile, the banking authorities are faced with the features of the banknote created in the art nouveau style . Some thought she was “not monetary enough,” too bizarre or erotic, and the like. In addition, the bank was afraid to be criticized by the public for providing greater guarantees to the owners of the new banknote of 1000 francs than to the owners of lower denominations. Only in August 1914, in connection with the First World War , the need for quicker receipt of cash arose, the Bank of France is considering the introduction of a ready-made design with the nominal value of “5,000 francs” of Flamenges into circulation. It was printed in new colors, but only in September 26, 1938 was put into circulation, and before that banknotes were kept in reserve for 20 years (as cash for large transactions). This banknote was printed only in 1918, with a circulation of 600,000 copies.

In September 1938, the banknote of 5000 francs was also put into circulation. The victory, which was gradually replaced by the banknotes of 5000 francs of Flameng. The circulation of the banknote ended on June 4, 1945, when it was finally deprived of the status of legal tender.

The banknote was designed in 1896 by François Flameng, the engraving was made by engravers Duzhardin and Jules Robert.

The dominant colors are green and red-brown.

Above: on the left, a couple sitting on a bas-relief, an allegory, personifying the Work Alliance (young blacksmith and apiary) and Science (woman holding caduceus ) against the background of a factory. On the right, in front of the plow, stands Cupid , who holds the scales in his right hand, and the other supports a large shield, on which the slogan of the Bank of France is engraved: "Wisdom and luck." Behind Cupid are images of the achievements of science, art, industry, agriculture and trade. Everything is decorated with a frieze decorated with colored fruits and attributes that share a common theme. Outside this frame, on both sides of the upper part, two cherubs, intertwined with ribbons, seem to support the central part of the banknote. The right outer edge shows the calligraphic inscription “Banque de France” and two serial numbers.

On the reverse side: one big picture occupies the entire space in which the allegory “Work that brings good luck” is depicted on the left, the motto of which is written on the tape: the worker tries to keep a young woman standing half-naked with a blindfold and left foot on the wheel of Fortune. In the center is a sleepy Cupid holding a spade, a globe, a parchment, an open book. On the right side is a bearded man, dressed as a philosopher, holding a compass and an inkwell, and a young peasant leaning on his scythe. In the background, behind two large columns, you can see the panorama of the Pont-Neuf and the Island of the Cité . On the outer edges of the banknote, as well as on the front side, there are two cherubs depicting a picture with ribbons falling on the number “5000”, on the right there is a calligraphic inscription “Bank of France”.

The theme of this banknote is the French economy, art and science, panoramas of historical Paris.

No watermarks.

Its dimensions are 256 × 128 mm: it is the largest French banknote in length.

This note is very popular among collectors, its value, depending on the state, is on average around 3,000 euros ^[3] .

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• Claude Fayette, Les billets de la Banque de France et du Trésor (1800–2002) , C. Fayette Éd., 2003 ISBN 978-2951634312
• Tristan Gaston-Breton: Indispensable Billet. Petites et grandes histoires du billet de banque en France , Le Cherche midi, 2007 ISBN 978-2-7491-0444-7
• M. Kolsky, J. Laurent et A. Dailly: Les Billets de France, 1707-2000 , coll. "Histoire du papier-monnaie français", Les éditions du Landit, 2009
• A. Pick - George S. Cuhaj, Standard Catalog of World Paper Money, General Issues, Vol 2 (1368–1960) , 12th ed., Krause Publications, 2010 ISBN 978-1440212932