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1 Franc - Chambre de Commerce de Béthune 62
| Issuer | Chambre de Commerce de Béthune |
|---|---|
| Year | 1915 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Plain cream-coloured paper with a geometric interlocking key-pattern border. At the top centre, a heraldic vignette shows a coat of arms supported by two standing figures. Below, two paragraphs of redemption conditions are set in spaced letterpress type, with a blue rectangular cancellation stamp overlying the text. |
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| Protection type | Watermark |
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| Comments |
Béthune sits in the Pas-de-Calais, close enough to the front lines in 1915 that conventional banking infrastructure had largely collapsed. Like dozens of other French chambres de commerce during the First World War, Béthune's issued its own small-denomination emergency notes to plug the gap left by the hoarding and disappearance of coins — a phenomenon that hit northern France particularly hard given the proximity of active combat and the displacement of the civilian population.
The JP#26-6/7/8/9 reference covers multiple varieties within the same issue, distinguished by serial number ranges or minor typographic differences. Imprimerie Richard, Paris handled a significant volume of wartime emergency paper for provincial issuers across France.