Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
1 Franc - Chambres de Commerce du Havre
| Issuer | Ville du Havre et Chambre de Commerce du Havre |
|---|---|
| Year | 1914-1915 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | JP#68- 04/05/06/10/11 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | VILLE DU HAVRE ET CHAMBRE DE COMMERCE DU HAVRE UN FRANC Le Président de la Chambre de Commerce Le Maire de la Ville du Havre Émission approuvée par l'Administration supérieure. Ces Coupures peuvent être échangées à présentation contre des Billets de la Banque de France. |
| Reverse description | The back presents a plain cream ground bearing a central block of italic letterpress text setting out the conditions for redemption of the notes. A vertical red rectangular control stamp is printed at centre, with serial numbers appearing in mirror-image format at lower left and lower right. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
When the French banking system effectively seized up in August 1914, towns and chambers of commerce across the country scrambled to plug the coin vacuum left by wartime hoarding and the suspension of specie payments. Le Havre, as a major Atlantic port, felt this immediately — commerce couldn't wait for Paris to sort itself out. These locally-issued emergency fractional notes were a practical municipal fix, not a monetary experiment.
The JP#68 series spans several discrete signature and date variants across 1914–15, which accounts for the range of Pick references. Collectors working this series need to distinguish them carefully; the differences are minor but the relative scarcities are not uniform across variants.