Catalog
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
| Issuer | Chambre de Commerce de Belfort |
|---|---|
| Year | 1918 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 93 × 60 mm |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | CHAMBRE DE COMMERCE DE BELFORT DÉLIBÉRATION DU 21 DÉCEMBRE 1918 1 FRANC SÉRIE 2 15,579 IMP. B.ARNAUD - LYON - PARIS |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | 1 FRANC LA CONTRE-VALEUR DE CES BONS EST DÉPOSÉE AU TRÉSOR ; LEUR REMBOURSEMENT A LIEU AUX CAISSES PUBLIQUES DANS LA CIRCONSCRIPTION DE LA CHAMBRE DE COMMERCE DE BELFORT ; ILS DEVRONT ÊTRE PRÉSENTÉS AU REMBOURSEMENT AVANT LE 22 DÉCEMBRE 1923, SAUF DÉCISION PROROGEANT CE DÉLAI. Le Trésorier. Le Vice-Président. CIRCULATION LÉGALE DANS TOUTE L'ALSACE-LORRAINE |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Belfort's Chamber of Commerce began issuing emergency fractional notes during the First World War to address the acute shortage of small-denomination coinage — a problem that afflicted much of France as hoarding stripped bronze and nickel from circulation after 1914. The Chambre de Commerce de Belfort was one of dozens of regional chambers authorized under wartime necessity to fill this gap, with their notes functioning as genuine transactional currency in local commerce rather than mere scrip.
B. Arnaud, the Villeurbanne-based printer, handled a significant volume of French regional emergency issues during this period. The watermark security feature is notably modest for a wartime necessity note — functional rather than sophisticated.