Catalog
10 Centimes
| Issuer | Chambres de Commerce de l'Hérault |
|---|---|
| Year | |
| Type | Emergency coin |
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| Obverse description | A large cluster of grapes with foliage occupies the central field, rendered in relief with fine detail characteristic of French chamber of commerce emergency coinage. The design is enclosed within a dotted inner border. The circular legend reads CHAMBRES DE COMMERCE in the upper arc and DE L'HERAULT in the lower arc, all in raised Latin lettering. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
The Chambres de Commerce de l'Hérault issued emergency zinc coinage during World War I when the French government's wartime metal requisitions and the hoarding of small change created an acute shortage of circulating currency. Chambers of commerce across France were authorized to fill the gap, producing their own locally valid tokens. The Hérault issues are among the more regionally specific of these, tied to the department centered on Montpellier.
Zinc was the fallback material precisely because copper, nickel, and aluminum had higher military priority. The alloy corrodes readily in circulation, which is why surviving examples in clean condition are harder to find than their original mintages would suggest.