Comorian Franc - Banknotes

Banknotes

The first Comorian paper money was issued in 1920. It consisted of an emergency issue of Madagascar postage stamps fixed to card to allow them to circulate as money. Denominations of 50 centimes and 1 franc were issued.

Loi ordinaire 62-873 du 31 juillet 1962, Article 12, allowed the Banque de Madagascar et des Comores to continue issuing notes in Comoros after Madagascar began issuing its own currency but, beginning 1 April 1962, they had "COMORES" overstamped on them. Denominations of 50, 100, 500, 1000 and 5000 francs were issued. As per Décret 64-1038 du 07 octobre 1964, banknotes without the overstamp ceased to be legal tender on 31 December 1964.

The overstamped notes circulated until 1976, when 500, 1000 and 5000 francs were introduced by the Institut d'Émission des Comores, the 50 and 100 franc notes being replaced by coins. The central Bank took over production of paper money in 1984. 2500 and 10,000 franc notes were introduced in 1997, followed by 2000 francs in 2005. The 2,500-franc note was demonetized on 31 January 2007.

Comorian banknotes are printed by the Banque de France at their paper mill in Vic-le-Comte and their printing works in Chamalières, both in Puy-de-Dôme, Auvergne. The 500, 1000, 2000, 5000, and 10,000 franc notes dated 2005 and 2006 contain the EURion constellation, along with other improved security features to make them more difficult to counterfeit.