Madagascar is a huge island nation off the southeast coast of Africa. Madagascar is a biodiversity hotspot; over 90% of its wildlife is found nowhere else on Earth. It is home to thousands of animal species, such as lemurs, plus rainforests, beaches and reefs. Near the busy capital, Antananarivo, is Ambohimanga, a hillside complex of royal palaces and burial grounds, as well as the “Avenue of the Baobabs,” a dirt road lined by massive centuries-old trees.

The island's diverse ecosystems and unique wildlife are threatened by the encroachment of the rapidly growing human population and other environmental threats. Ecotourism and agriculture are key elements of Madagascar's development strategy and the country belongs to the group of least developed countries, according to the United Nations. The main economic resources of Madagascar are tourism, textile export, production and export agricultural and mining.

The franc was the currency of Madagascar until January 1, 2005. It was subdivided into 100 centimes. In 1961, the Institut d’Emission Malgache (Malagasy Issuing Institute) introduced banknotes in denominations of 50, 100, 500, 1000 and 5000 francs.

Today we are looking at a 5 Francs banknote issued in 1937. This yellow-brown banknote has Roman Goddess Juno to left and the value in words to right on the obverse, while the reverse has the promissory text to right and the value in numeral to left.

Image Courtesy: CurrencyBanknotes.com