1 Franc - Chambre de Commerce de Cahors 46

The Chambres de Commerce emergency notes of WWI exist because the French Treasury simply could not produce enough small-denomination coinage once wartime metal demand stripped circulation bare. Cahors, the prefecture of the Lot department, was among dozens of provincial chambers authorized to fill the gap — a patchwork monetary system that lasted well into the early 1920s before the state fully reclaimed the territory.

Pierre Dumont of Limoges handled printing for several regional chambers in the southwest, which means this note shares production lineage with issues from neighboring departments. The watermark is worth examining closely; paper security on these provincial fractional notes was inconsistently applied across print runs.