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1 Franc - Dépôt d'Alençon
| Issuer | Ministère de l'Intérieur |
|---|---|
| Year | 1915-1919 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Franc |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Plain black letterpress text on cream paper within a dotted border frame. The denomination '1 Franc' is printed in large bold type at centre, flanked above by the issuing authority inscription and below by the depot name. A circular handstamp is applied at centre. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Plain unprinted verso showing bleed-through impression of the obverse text in mirror image, with no additional design elements or inscriptions. |
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| Comments |
During World War One, the drain of coinage into hoarding and industrial use created acute small-change shortages across France. The Ministère de l'Intérieur authorized a patchwork of local emergency issues — chambres de commerce, municipalities, and internment camp administrations all printed their own fractional notes. The Dépôt d'Alençon was one such internment facility, issuing this franc note for internal circulation among detainees rather than the general public, which makes it functionally closer to a camp scrip than a civic emergency note.
Survivors are scarce for the obvious reason: notes that never left a closed population rarely escaped destruction when the facility closed.