1 Franc - Chambre de Commerce d'Evreux 27

The Chambres de Commerce emergency notes of World War One exist because the French state simply could not produce small-denomination coinage fast enough once metal was diverted to the war effort. Évreux, the prefecture of Eure in Normandy, issued its own series rather than leave local commerce without a functioning fractional currency. Berger-Levrault, the Nancy-based printer with deep roots in military and administrative publishing, produced notes for dozens of these regional chambers simultaneously during the same period.

The cachet stamp was applied locally after delivery, a standard anti-counterfeiting measure for these bons de nécessité — and the primary reason unchacheted examples exist and are considered incomplete.