Catalog
10 Centimes
| Issuer | Syndicat des Commerçants de Sidi Bel Abbès (Department de Oran) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1916 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Obverse description | Plain tan cardboard note with all text letterpress-printed in black ink on an unadorned ground. The issuer abbreviation 'SYNDICAT D. C. S.' appears at the top, followed by 'Square Pasteur' in a smaller typeface; the large bold denomination numeral '0,10c.' occupies the central field. The place name 'à SIDI-BEL-ABBÈS' and the issue date '(Mai 1916)' are printed in the lower portion. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Plain tan cardboard reverse printed in black ink, bearing two separate typeset denomination cartouches. The upper-left cartouche encloses '0,10' within a simple rectangular ornamental frame with corner flourishes, while a second, more elaborate cartouche in the lower-right repeats '0,10' surrounded by a decorative border with foliate ornaments. A handwritten manuscript signature or annotation is visible across the centre of the reverse. |
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| Comments |
Sidi Bel Abbès was the garrison town of the French Foreign Legion's main depot in Algeria, and by 1916 the wartime drain on coinage was severe enough that local merchant syndicates across French Algeria resorted to cardboard emergency tokens to handle small-change transactions. These syndicat issues were purely local instruments — accepted only within the issuing town's commercial network, and effectively worthless outside it.
Cardboard deteriorates quickly in circulation, which is why surviving examples in any reasonable condition are genuinely uncommon.