1 Franc - Chambre de Commerce de Bourges [18]

French chambers of commerce were authorized to issue emergency small-denomination notes beginning in 1914, filling the void left when hoarding stripped metal coinage from circulation almost overnight at the outbreak of war. Bourges was among the earliest provincial chambers to act on that authorization. The Tardy firm — listed here as Vve Tardy-Pigelet & Fils, a family operation that had been printing in Bourges for generations — handled both design and production locally, which was unusual; most provincial chambers contracted outside specialists.

The JP# variants span a long series of dated issues across the authorization window, with subtle typographic and stamp differences distinguishing each. The monogram stamp was applied to validate individual issue runs, making unstamped examples technically irregular.