Reunion Franc

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1 franc from 1948
100 franc banknote from 1947 with the portrait of Governor La Bourdonnais

The Réunion Franc ( French Franc réunionnais) was the currency of the French overseas department of La Réunion from 1946 to 1974. Before and after that, the French Franc was legal tender .

history

Until 1810, Mauritius and Réunion were jointly administered by France and both islands used the currencies of France and French India . When Mauritius fell to Great Britain after the Napoleonic Wars , La Réunion remained with France. The first coin minted specifically for La Réunion was a 10-centime piece in 1816. From 1873 banknotes appeared that were issued by the Banque de La Réunion and that circulated alongside French banknotes. In addition, from 1859 to 1879 silver 20 Kreuzer coins were in circulation that had been produced with the permission of the authorities on the private initiative of the large landowner Gabriel Le Coat de Kerveguen. On May 5, 1879, the governor Pierre Etienne Cuinier issued a decree that declared the French franc to be the sole currency and prohibited the use of all other currencies.

In the 20th century, local coins and banknotes were in circulation, especially during the world wars, because the cash supply from the motherland was interrupted.

On December 26, 1945, the Réunion franc belonging to the CFA franc zone was created, and it was introduced as cash the following year. It was pegged to the French franc at a ratio of 1: 1.7. On October 17, 1948, it was revalued to 1: 2 against the French franc. The changeover to the Nouveaux Franc in 1960 was not followed by the Réunion Franc like all other currencies in the CFA Franc Zone, so that 50 Réunion Francs now corresponded to a new French Franc. On January 1, 1975, the French franc replaced the Réunion franc as a means of payment.

Coins and banknotes

Coins were minted in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 francs. The low values ​​of up to 5 francs bear a portrait of Minerva looking to the left with a winged helmet in front of merchant ships and on the value side stylized sugar cane plants . The higher values ​​have a value side with the Réunions coat of arms . From 1947 banknotes were issued in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500, 1,000 and 5,000 francs. In 1964, instead of banknotes up to 100 francs, coins and new banknotes for higher values ​​up to 5,000 francs appeared. From 1966, the value in Nouveaux Francs of the motherland was also printed on a new series of banknotes .

All banknotes were issued by the Caisse Centrale de la France d'Outre-mer until 1959 , then by the successor institution Institut d'émission des départements d'Outre-mer (IEDOM).

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