2020-01-15 Wed

Algeria is a North African country with a Mediterranean coastline and a Saharan desert interior. The capital and most populous city is Algiers, located in the far north of the country. The country is a semi-presidential republic consisting of 48 provinces and 1,541 communes (counties).

Many empires have left legacies here, such as the ancient Roman ruins in seaside Tipaza, the Ottoman landmarks like circa-1612 Ketchaoua Mosque line the hillside Casbah quarter, with its narrow alleys and stairways, in the capital, Algiers, the city’s Neo-Byzantine basilica Notre Dame d’Afrique dates to French colonial rule, etc.

With the 16th largest oil reserves in the world, the second largest in Africa and the 9th largest reserves of natural gas, Algeria supplies large amounts of natural gas to Europe, and energy exports are the backbone of the economy.

Algeria is classified as an upper middle income country by the World Bank. Though Algeria's current currency is the Dinar, the franc was the currency of Algeria between 1848 and 1964. It was subdivided into 100 centimes.

The Banque d'Algérie introduced its first notes in 1861. Denominations of 5, 10, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 francs were introduced by 1873 although the 10-franc note was issued only in 1871. Today we are looking at a 2 Francs banknote issued in 1944.

The obverse has Corn ears, grapes, palm trees, fruits, and mountains depicted in the background with the denominational in centre. The reverse features Coats of Arms around the border of the banknotes.

Image Courtesy: numisbids.com