Madagascar's wartime fractional notes of 1916 were a direct response to the acute coin shortage that plagued French colonial territories during the First World War, as metal was diverted to the war effort and shipping disruptions severed normal currency supply chains. The Government of Madagascar and Dependencies issued these low-denomination paper fractions as emergency substitutes for centime coinage — a stopgap measure seen across multiple French colonies simultaneously.
The 0,05 Franc denomination is the smallest in the P#14–17 series. Survival rates are poor; small-format emergency paper of this type was discarded freely once coinage returned.
Madagascar's wartime fractional notes of 1916 were a direct response to the acute coin shortage that plagued French colonial territories during the First World War, as metal was diverted to the war effort and shipping disruptions severed normal currency supply chains. The Government of Madagascar and Dependencies issued these low-denomination paper fractions as emergency substitutes for centime coinage — a stopgap measure seen across multiple French colonies simultaneously.
The 0,05 Franc denomination is the smallest in the P#14–17 series. Survival rates are poor; small-format emergency paper of this type was discarded freely once coinage returned.