Collection PL

Martinique 1870 — Banque de la Martinique 1 Franc Unissued Cheque (Pick P.5A)

An unissued cheque for one franc prepared for the Banque de la Martinique and intended for use at Saint-Pierre, dating from the early period of organized colonial banking on the island. Classified as Pick P.5A, this form represents a non-circulating banking instrument rather than a circulating banknote, designed for internal settlement, account debiting, and controlled monetary transfers within the colonial financial system. The Banque de la Martinique was established as part of France’s overseas banking framework, created to stabilize currency supply and facilitate commercial credit in the Caribbean colonies. ... Read more →

Martinique 1870 — Banque de la Martinique 1 Franc Cheque Recovered After the 1902 Mount Pelée Eruption (Pick P.5A)

A Banque de la Martinique one franc cheque form, Pick P.5A, originally printed for use at Saint-Pierre during the late nineteenth century and later recovered from the ruins of the city following the catastrophic eruption of Mount Pelée on 8 May 1902. Although printed decades earlier as part of the bank’s standardized cheque issue, this surviving example was never negotiated as a financial instrument and instead entered history as a disaster-recovery relic, explicitly identified as such by contemporary handwritten annotations. The printed face follows the established Banque de la Martinique cheque format, bearing the heading “Chèque sur la Banque de la Martinique,” internal control marking “B.P.F. ... Read more →