1 Franc - Chambre de Commerce de Mont-de-Marsan 40

Mont-de-Marsan is the prefecture of the Landes department in southwestern France, and its Chambre de Commerce issued this franc note during the acute small-change crisis that gripped France after 1914 — hoarding of coins had stripped everyday commerce of the means to make change. Hundreds of French chambers of commerce resorted to emergency paper, and most of these emissions were printed by a handful of specialist houses. B. Arnaud of Villeurbanne handled a large share of this provincial output, and the JP reference numbers 82-21 through 82-24 indicate at least four distinct varieties within the series, likely differing by date, series letter, or signature combination.