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1 Franc - Bon de cantine
| Issuer | Dépôt de Prisonniers de Guerre (French Prisoner of War Depot) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1914-1918 |
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| Currency | Franc (1795-1959) |
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| Obverse description | Printed in black letterpress on light blue cardboard, the obverse bears the heading "Dépôt de Prisonniers de Guerre" at the top, with a dotted line below the word "de" for handwritten camp identification. A circular violet handstamp is applied to the left-centre field. The denomination "BON DE CANTINE" and the value "1 Francs" appear in bold type to the right, with a serial number printed to the lower left. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Dépôt de Prisonniers de Guerre de BON DE CANTINE 1 Francs (Translation: Prisoner of War Depot. Canteen voucher.) |
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| Comments |
Bons de cantine were issued by French-administered prisoner of war depots to allow German and Austro-Hungarian internees to make purchases within the camp canteen system — a requirement under the 1907 Hague Convention, which prohibited the confiscation of prisoners' personal funds and obligated detaining powers to provide a substitute means of internal exchange. The scrip prevented real currency from circulating inside the camps and simplified accounting between the depot administration and the canteen suppliers.
Blue cardboard construction was deliberate — color-coding by denomination made fraud and substitution harder in an environment with limited oversight.