Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
1 Franc - Chamber of Commerce of Auxerre [89]
| Issuer | Chambre de Commerce d'Auxerre |
|---|---|
| Year | 1915-1917 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Rectangular |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Pink guilloche underprint covers the central field, overlaid with a repeated text watermark reading CHAMBRE DE COMMERCE D'AUXERRE. The issuer's name and the four constituent arrondissements — Auxerre, Joigny, Tonnerre, and Avallon — are inscribed in blue letterpress across the upper portion, below which the authorizing deliberation dates of 19 August and 13 September 1915 appear. The denomination UN FRANC is printed in large red letters at centre, flanked by two manuscript signatures for the Trésorier and the Président, with the series number and note number in blue at lower left and right respectively; the border consists of an ornate blue lace-pattern guilloche frame with small vignette medallions at each corner. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in pink and blue on a plain field, with a repeated microtext underprint of CHAMBRE DE COMMERCE D'AUXERRE forming the background. A central vignette consists of two symmetrical palm-branch sprays flanking a circular blue dry-stamp inscribed CHAMBRE DE COMMERCE with the value numeral 1F at its centre. The denomination UN FRANC is rendered in large pink outline letters across the upper half, while a scrolled cartouche at the foot carries the redemption deadline notice; the border repeats the blue geometric guilloche of the obverse, with the denomination 1Fr displayed in circular medallions at each corner. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
During World War One, the withdrawal of metal coinage from circulation — silver and copper hoarded or melted — created an acute shortage of small change across provincial France. Chambers of commerce were authorized by the French government to fill the gap with locally issued emergency notes, and dozens did so. The Auxerre chamber's 1 franc issues across 1915–1917 reflect the extended duration of that crisis: the JP reference numbers indicate at least ten distinct dated or signed variants within the series, an unusually large run for a single denomination from one provincial issuer.
Arnaud in Villeurbanne handled a significant volume of these wartime nécessité issues for chambers throughout the region.