France 200 Francs 1997

200 Francs 1997 (Front: Portrait of Gustave Eiffel, French engineer (Born in Dijon, on the 15th of December 1832 – died in Paris on the 27th of December 1923). The silhouette of the Garabit Viaduct, built between 1880 and 1884 by Gustave Eiffel in the mountainous Massif Central region. Under the metal arch of viaduct, the curved purple, blue, red and yellow lines forming concentric circles are inspired by a aerodynamic study of Eiffel. In the background is a colorful detail of a structure reminiscent of the Eiffel Tower, which changes colour from green to blue when the note is tilted. Sectional view of the Observatory of Nice with Gustave Eiffel dome realized in 1885. Under the watermark one can distinguish a profile of the Garabit Viaduct. A see-through feature representing the Eiffel Tower is printed in red. Back: At the foot of the Eiffel Tower, - Champ de Mars at the Exposition Universelle of 1889. In the background, we see the dome of the Palace of Fine Arts and the Glass Gallery of Machines built for the Exposition of 1889 which was demolished in the early twentieth century. Up on the left, in red and blue, a stylised detail of the metal structure of the Eiffel Tower. Watermark: Photographic portrait of Gustave Eiffel at 65 years of age. Signatures: Didier Bruneel (Le Secrétaire Général); Jean Bonnardin (Le Contrôleur Général); Yves Barroux (Le Caissier Général). Design: Roger Pfund. Issuer: Bank of France. Dates of Issue: 1995 through 1999. Authorization: 12 December 1995. Circulation from: 29 October 1996. Withdrawn: 1 January 2002. Legal tender: No, from 17 February 2002. Demonetized: 17 February 2012. Material: Cotton paper fiber. Printing method: Screen printing and hot transfer gluing for patterns with changing visual effects; offset in four colors (yellow, red, purple and blue) for the vignette; intaglio in three colors (one red and two brown); magnetic black typography for the serial numbers. Printer: Banque de France (BdF))

Dimensions: 144 x 80 mm

Catalogue Number: P-159b (SCWPM: Albert Pick; Krause)

Grade/condition: Very Fine to Extra Fine (VF-XF) (circulated, used)

Microtext: The following two sentences are printed in microtext: "On peut dire, sans la moindre exagération, que, jusqu’au commencement de ce siècle, la branche de la physique relative à la résistance de l’air ne présentait que confusion et incertitudes."; "Le drapeau français est le seul qui ait une hampe de trois cents mètres."

Texts: Banque de France. Deux Cents Francs. Two Hundred Francs. Le contrefaçon ou la falsification des billets de banque et la mise en circulation des billets contrefaits ou falsifiés sont punies par les articles 442-1 et 442-2 du code pénal de peines pouvant aller jusqu'à trente ans de réclusion criminelle et trois millions de francs d'amende.