The Malagasy franc (French: franc malgache) was the currency of Madagascar until January 1, 2005. It was subdivided into 100 centimes.
town view; abstract finial of a wooden Aloalo tomb sculpture
Reverse: Herdsmen with Zebus; rice tilling scene
Watermark: Zebus head
The first francs to circulate in Madagascar were French francs. These were supplemented during the First World War by emergency issues, including issues of postage stamps fixed to pieces of card in denominations of 0.05 up to 2 francs.
The Malagasy franc was introduced on July 1, 1925, by the French government for use in the colony.
On January 1, 2005, Malagasy franc was replaced by the ariary at a rate of 5 francs to the ariary.
