Luxembourgish Franc - Banknotes

Banknotes

Before the First World War, notes were issued by the International Bank in Luxembourg and the National Bank, denominated in Thaler, Mark and, occasionally, francs, with an exchange rate of 1 franc = 80 Pfennig (the relative gold standards would have implied a rate of 1 franc = 81 Pfennig) used on bi-currency notes.

In 1914, State Treasury notes were issued. The first series was denominated in francs and Mark but these were the last Luxembourg notes to feature the German currency. Denominations were of 1, 2, 5, 25 and 125 francs (80 Pfennig, 1.6, 4, 20 and 100 Mark). In 1919, a second series of State Treasury notes was issued, with new denominations of 50 centimes and 500 francs. In 1923, the International Bank in Luxembourg issued the first of several types of 100 francs notes which continued until the 1980s. In 1932, the state introduced 50 francs notes, followed by 1000 francs in 1940.

In 1944, following liberation, the franc was reintroduced with a new series of notes in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 francs. The 5 francs notes were replaced by coins in 1949, followed by the 10 francs in 1971, the 20 francs in 1980 and the 50 francs in 1987.

In 1985, the Monetary Institute of Luxembourg took over paper money issuance from the government and issued the first post-war 1000 francs notes {€24.79}. These were followed by 100 francs notes {€2.48} in 1986 and 5000 francs {€123.95} in 1993.