The Union Fumeloise was a workers' cooperative and mutual aid society operating around the iron-producing town of Fumel in the Lot-et-Garonne. During the First World War, the near-total disappearance of bronze and copper small change from French circulation — metals requisitioned for munitions — forced hundreds of local chambers of commerce, cooperatives, and industrial employers to issue their own emergency token coinage. Iron, the one metal Fumel had in abundance given its foundry operations, was the logical substitute.
The El Monnaies reference 10.2 suggests at least a second die variety exists for this type.
The Union Fumeloise was a workers' cooperative and mutual aid society operating around the iron-producing town of Fumel in the Lot-et-Garonne. During the First World War, the near-total disappearance of bronze and copper small change from French circulation — metals requisitioned for munitions — forced hundreds of local chambers of commerce, cooperatives, and industrial employers to issue their own emergency token coinage. Iron, the one metal Fumel had in abundance given its foundry operations, was the logical substitute.
The El Monnaies reference 10.2 suggests at least a second die variety exists for this type.