Catalog
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| Issuer | Chambre de Commerce de Saint-Omer |
|---|---|
| Year | 1914 |
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| Reference(s) | JP#115- 04/05/06 |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | La circulation des billets est limitée à la circonscription de la Chambre de Commerce de St-Omer. 2° Ces billets ont été émis suivant les instructions du Ministre du Commerce en date du 14 Août 1914. 3° Le remboursement de ces billets aura lieu dans un délai maximum de cinq ans à dater du 1er Octobre 1915, sur avis donné et suivant les formes indiquées par la Chambre de Commerce. |
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| Protection type | Watermark |
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| Comments |
Saint-Omer's chamber of commerce issued this note in 1914 as an emergency response to the acute coin shortage that struck northern France in the opening weeks of the war — small change essentially vanished from circulation as the public hoarded metal and the banking system seized up. Chambers of commerce across the Pas-de-Calais and neighbouring departments stepped into the void, issuing small-denomination papier-monnaie de nécessité under powers hastily sanctioned by the French government.
The Imprimerie Richard in Paris supplied much of this regional emergency paper. The JP#115 reference covers three catalogue numbers for this type, suggesting date or series variants within what is otherwise a uniform issue.