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1 Franc - Chambre de Commerce D'Amiens [80]
| Issuer | Chambre de Commerce d'Amiens |
|---|---|
| Year | 1915 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Franc (1795-1959) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in black on cream paper, surrounded by a decorative floral and scroll border. The year '1915' is set at the top centre, with denomination numerals '1' in square frames at either side of the bold central legend 'UN FRANC'. The body of the note is divided into two columns of text setting out the guarantee and redemption conditions, with a final line noting the note's currency within the circumscription of the Chambre de Commerce d'Amiens, covering Amiens, Doullens, and Montdidier. |
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| Protection type | Watermark |
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| Comments |
The Chambre de Commerce d'Amiens began issuing emergency fractional notes in 1914–1915 as small change vanished from circulation almost immediately after mobilization — hoarded by a public that had stopped trusting the supply chain entirely. This 1 Franc piece belongs to that first wave of locally-printed necessity currency that proliferated across French departments when the Banque de France couldn't meet demand for small denominations.
The Imprimerie du Progrès de la Somme, which produced this note, was a regional press operating in Amiens until its destruction in 1944. Printing a watermarked emergency note locally rather than contracting a specialist security printer was unusual — the watermark here is a modest deterrent, not a serious anti-counterfeiting measure.