Malagasy Franc
The Malagasy franc preserves a dual monetary language in which franc values and the older ariary counting unit coexisted on the same banknotes.
Quick Facts
Country: Madagascar
Code: MGF
Symbol: Fmg
System: Decimal (1 Franc = 100 Centimes; 5 Francs = 1 Ariary)
Status: Withdrawn
Issuer: Central Bank of Madagascar
The Story of the Malagasy Franc
The Malagasy franc was Madagascar’s official monetary unit before the ariary became primary. The system was decimal, with one franc divided into 100 centimes, but everyday Malagasy counting also used the ariary, equal to five francs, and the iraimbilanja, equal to one franc.
This dual structure was not merely informal. Earlier central-bank legislation recognised the franc as the monetary unit while admitting ariary and iraimbilanja denominations. A 2003 amendment reversed that hierarchy: the ariary became the unit of account, while the franc remained an accepted denomination worth one-fifth of an ariary.
On 1 January 2005, the transition was extended across the payment system at the fixed relationship of one ariary to five Malagasy francs. The reform did not require a sudden redesign of every banknote because many issues had already displayed both values, allowing the monetary language to change gradually.
The Malagasy franc is therefore best understood as a withdrawn currency with an unusually close structural relationship to its successor. It should remain separate from the Malagasy Ariary page even where the same physical note carries both denominations.
Design & Symbolism
Franc-era banknotes combine local portraiture, agriculture, cattle, village life and Madagascar’s distinctive flora. Rather than relying on a single national monument, the designs often build identity through rural work, settlement and the island’s ecological environment.
The WorldBanknotes.eu 500 Francs 1994 example places a braided Malagasy girl and travellers palm on the obverse. The reverse joins zebu herding with rice harvesting, creating a compact visual account of pastoral and agricultural life.
Many notes display values in both francs and ariary. This dual notation is one of the defining features of Malagasy paper money and allows collectors to observe the legal and cultural transition directly on the banknote.
French security-printing influence remains visible in the engraving, watermark structure and formal colour separation, while the subject matter is firmly rooted in Malagasy people, landscapes and economic life.
For collectors
The Malagasy franc is particularly valuable for studying how a currency transition can occur through changing denomination emphasis rather than through an entirely new physical series. Collectors can compare franc-dominant, dual-denominated and ariary-dominant notes.
Catalogue records should preserve the printed denomination exactly. A banknote showing 500 francs and 100 ariary may belong to a transitional design family, but the selected Currency entity should follow the issue’s principal legal and catalogue context.
The 500 Francs 1994 note currently linked to the Malagasy Franc product term provides a clear starting point. Signature varieties, prefixes, watermarks and the timing of the 2003–2005 change add further depth.
The ariary became the official unit at 1 ariary = 5 Malagasy francs; the franc is now withdrawn.
