Catalog
1 Franc
| Issuer | Etat du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg |
|---|---|
| Year | 1914-1918 |
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| Value | 1 Franc (1 LUF) |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in blue-green on a light ground, with an elaborate guilloche underprint filling the central field. The title 'Etat du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg' arches across the top, above the denomination legend 'Bon de Caisse / au porteur' and the large numeral '1' flanking the central text 'Un Franc'. The authorizing law reference, two manuscript signatures, and a small red official seal appear in the lower portion, with a printed counterfeiting warning running along the bottom margin. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | Grossherzoglich Luxemburgischer Staat Kassenschein auf den Inhaber Gesetz v. 28. Nov. 1914 - Grhz. Beschluss v. 11. Dez. 1918 1 Ein Frank 1 Die General-Staatskasse, Die Kontrolle, Wer Kassenscheine nachmacht oder verfälscht, wird mit Zwangsarbeit von 15 bis 20 Jahren bestraft. |
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| Comments |
Luxembourg's wartime 1 Franc note was a direct consequence of German occupation — with the Grand Duchy's banking system disrupted after August 1914, the state itself stepped in to issue small-denomination paper to prevent a complete collapse of everyday commerce. The Belgian franc had circulated freely alongside the Luxembourg franc before the war, and that parallel use had made small coin hoarding worse when metal disappeared from circulation almost immediately.
P#27 is notoriously difficult to find without folds. The thin wartime paper, combined with heavy everyday use as a substitute for vanished coinage, means that genuinely uncirculated survivors are the exception rather than any kind of rule.