1 Franc - Chambre de Commerce de Paris

Paris's Chamber of Commerce began issuing small-denomination emergency notes in 1914 when the outbreak of war triggered an immediate and severe shortage of coin — the public was hoarding metal, and the state was overwhelmed. By 1920 these notes had been in continuous circulation for six years, and the franc series was deeply familiar to Parisians as everyday pocket change. The Chamber had no formal banking authority; it issued on commercial rather than sovereign credit, a legal grey area tolerated out of pure necessity.

Fraipont was primarily a poster artist and illustrator — an unusual choice for currency work, and it shows in the graphic sensibility of the design.