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1 Franc - Chambre de Commerce de Caen et de Honfleur 14
| Issuer | Chambres de Commerce de Caen et de Honfleur |
|---|---|
| Year | 1915 |
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| Composition | Paper |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse, printed entirely in green on cream paper, carries a plain foliate outer border enclosing a central cartouche with scroll and volute ornaments. Within the cartouche, three lines of letterpress text state the note's redeemability against Banque de France notes at its branches and auxiliary offices in the Calvados department. Below the cartouche, the inscription 'DEUXIÈME EMISSION' appears in large spaced capitals, with two oval cartouches bearing the dates '1915' and '1920' flanked by leaf sprays at the foot. The denomination value '1Fc' is repeated in large figures at the lower left and lower right corners. |
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| Protection description | Bees |
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| Comments |
The Chambres de Commerce de Caen et de Honfleur began issuing emergency fractional notes in 1915 as small-denomination coinage vanished from circulation almost immediately after mobilization — hoarded by the public and consumed by wartime metal demands. These chamber issues were a purely local stopgap, authorized under French emergency provisions that allowed regional commercial bodies to fill the void that the Banque de France was either unwilling or too slow to address at the centime and franc level.
Charles Valin's Caen press handled the entire series locally, which is reflected in the fairly modest production quality relative to the engraved chamber notes coming out of Paris printers during the same period.