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1 Franc
| Issuer | Banque d'Emission de Lille |
|---|---|
| Year | 1915 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 105 × 80 mm |
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| Obverse description | Printed in brown on a light guilloche underprint, the obverse is dominated by a large central oval cartouche carrying the denomination UN FRANC in bold letterpress, flanked on each side by an ornate vignette of two putti figures standing on decorative pedestals and holding oval numeral shields bearing the digit '1'. The issuer's name BANQUE D'EMISSION arcs across the top of the cartouche in a curved brown band, with DE LILLE inscribed below it, while the issue date 12 Mars 1915 and the two manuscript signatures of the Administrateur délégué and the Président appear in the lower central field. A panel at the foot of the note reads Société anonyme au capital de cent mille francs, with alphanumeric series and serial number printed in the four corners. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is printed entirely in a pale reddish-brown tone with an overall intricate guilloche lathe-work pattern covering the full surface. A large circular medallion occupies the centre, enclosing text and a decorative vignette whose fine detail is rendered largely illegible by the dense underprint. Corner ornaments and scrollwork borders frame the composition, with the serial number visible in mirror impression from the obverse bleeding through the thin paper. |
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| Comments |
The Banque d'Emission de Lille was a wartime improvisation. When German forces occupied northern France in late 1914, they severed the region from the Banque de France entirely — no notes could circulate in from Paris, no coinage flowed freely. Local chambers of commerce and improvised banking bodies across occupied and near-occupied France responded by issuing their own small-denomination emergency paper, and Lille was among the first. This 1 Franc dates to 1915, the first full year of occupation.
The watermark is notable given the circumstances — maintaining even basic security features under wartime production constraints in a partially occupied industrial city required deliberate effort.