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1 Franc - Chambre de Commerce d'Angers
| Issuer | Chambre de Commerce d'Angers et de Maine-et-Loire |
|---|---|
| Year | 1915 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | An elaborate brown letterpress architectural frame encloses the central composition, flanked by two standing caryatid-style female figures supporting the entablature, above which the municipal coat of arms of Angers appears within a laurel wreath. At centre, two reclining putti flank a decorative urn atop a plinth bearing the denomination monogram '1F', with the large face-value legend 'UN FRANC' below; facsimile signatures of the Treasurer and President appear on either side of the 'VILLE D'ANGERS' legend. The series letter, emission date 'JUILLET 1915', and serial number are printed in the lower margin, with the designer and printer credits in small text at the foot. |
|---|---|
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| Protection type | Watermark |
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| Comments |
Like hundreds of French chambers of commerce, Angers stepped in to fill an acute shortage of small-denomination coinage in the opening months of the First World War — hoarding had stripped silver and bronze from everyday circulation almost overnight by late 1914. These emergency fractional notes, technically bons de caisse rather than banknotes, were issued under authority granted by the French state but backed solely by the issuing chamber's commercial guarantee.
The JP reference range here reflects multiple distinct date variants within the same basic type, all sharing the Paré et Philippeau imprint. The watermark is the only meaningful security measure — appropriate given the purely local reach of these notes.