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1 franc - Chambre de Commerce de Bayonne 64
| Issuer | Chambre de Commerce de Bayonne |
|---|---|
| Year | 1919-1921 |
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| In circulation to | 1er Décembre 1924 |
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| Reverse description | Printed in blue on a fine repetitive-text underprint, the reverse is dominated by three heraldic vignettes at centre: two crowned municipal coat-of-arms shields flanking a central octagonal seal of the Chambre de Commerce de Bayonne, all linked by decorative ribbon banners bearing Latin mottoes and framed by olive and laurel branches. The department name 'DÉPARTEMENT DES BASSES-PYRÉNÉES' arches across the top, while a redemption notice is set in a panel along the lower margin. |
| 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.