Rare and desired banknote.
Several folds but paper is still firm with plenty of original sheen.
Staple holes at issue.
Great eye appeal with strong colours.
The 5000 Francs 1918 is one of the most beautiful French banknotes. It’s graphic design contains many symbolic and allegorical figures. It was designed by French academic painter and illustrator François Flameng (1856-1923). Both sides of the banknote are enclosed in a richly decorated neo-baroque frame. The obverse has a clear division into two parts relative to the horizontal axis of symmetry. The lower one - which is the background for the inscriptions informing about the banknote - is a stylized antique bas-relief with a triumphal procession of: science, art, agriculture, industry and trade. Individual participants of the parade were signed by the designer of the banknote in the upper part of the drawing. We can easily recognize the chariot of the Roman goddess of fertility Ceres - symbolizing agriculture - and Mercury who symbolizing trade with. On the left side of the upper part of the obverse, we see two seated women symbolizing industry (a woman with a hammer) and trade (a woman with a caduceus). In the center we see a naked putto with scales which can be interpreted as a symbol of justice due to this attribute. In the upper part of the obverse there are also objects referring to: agriculture (plough), trade (package), art (pallet), industry (stove and smoking chimneys).
An allegorical scene was placed in the frame on the reverse. In an unspecified loggy we see a group of symbolic figures. On the left we see a man wearing an apron with a hammer lying at his feet who is trying to catch a beautiful naked woman. Above this couple is placed a vignette with the inscription: "Le travail et la fortune" (Work and Happiness). The man symbolizes work. The blindfolded naked woman standing on the wheel is Fortuna - the Roman goddess who controls human destiny. In her image we can see two colloquial phrases about happiness: "fortune turns round" and "blind fate" which were depicted by the artist through the wheel on which she is standing and blindfolded. Next to them we see a boy sitting with an oar which symbolizes maritime economy. On the right the scene with man and Fortune is balanced by a pair of seated men. They symbolizing science (a man in a Greek toga with a compass and a globe) and agriculture (a man with a scythe). In the background we can see the panorama of Paris from the Seine with the visible buildings of Ile de
