1 Franc Brown

Constantine's Chamber of Commerce began issuing emergency fractional notes during World War One when small coin almost completely disappeared from circulation across French Algeria — hoarded, melted, or simply absorbed by wartime demand. This 1 Franc piece is among the later issues, dated 1919, when the crisis was technically over but the coin shortage had not yet resolved itself. Chambers of Commerce across Algeria and metropolitan France filled that gap for years longer than anyone anticipated.

Jules Carbonel was the dominant commercial printer in Algiers during this period, responsible for a substantial portion of the Algerian emergency note output. That local production distinguishes these issues from the many French necessity notes sent to metropolitan printers.