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1 franc - Chambre de Commerce de Bayonne 64
| Issuer | Chambre de Commerce de Bayonne |
|---|---|
| Year | 1919-1921 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Obverse description | Printed entirely in blue on a fine guilloche underprint, the note bears the issuer's title 'CHAMBRE DE COMMERCE DE BAYONNE' across the upper field, below which the deliberation date is inscribed. Two symmetrical ornate cartouches with caduceus finials flank the central denomination 'UN FRANC' in large bold letterpress, with the numeral '1f' repeated within each cartouche. The lower portion carries signature lines for the Treasurer and President above a rectangular tablet stating exchangeability against Banque de France notes, with the series number at lower left and the serial number at lower right. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | DÉPARTEMENT DES BASSES-PYRÉNÉES MUNQUAM POLLUTA TROIS PALLADIUM LEGENTES Ce billet devra être présenté au remboursement avant le 1er Décembre 1924 |
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| Comments |
French chambers of commerce were authorized to issue emergency fractional notes during and after the First World War to compensate for the near-total disappearance of small coinage from circulation — silver and copper had been hoarded or melted almost immediately after mobilization in 1914. Bayonne's chamber was among dozens across France that exercised this right, producing locally administered scrip that filled the gap until the national coinage supply recovered in the early 1920s.
The JP references 21-64 and 21-65 indicate two distinct typographic variants within this 1 franc emission, a distinction that matters more to specialist collectors than the notes themselves suggest at first glance.