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10 Centimes - Bon de cantine
| Issuer | Dépôt de Prisonniers de Guerre |
|---|---|
| Year | 1914-1918 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 10 Centimes (0.10) |
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| Obverse description | Letterpress-printed in black on salmon-pink cardboard, the face carries the heading 'Dépôt de Prisonniers de Guerre' in bold type across the upper register, with a dotted fill line below for the depot location. The denomination 'BON DE CANTINE' and '0 Fr. 10' appear in large bold type to the right, while a circular administrative handstamp bearing the Commandant's authority is applied at centre-left. A pre-printed serial number occupies the lower left quadrant. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is entirely unprinted, presenting only the plain natural salmon-pink surface of the cardboard stock with no inscriptions or design elements. |
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| Comments |
Bons de cantine were internal scrip issued at French prisoner-of-war depots during the First World War, allowing German and Austro-Hungarian internees to make small purchases at the camp canteen without handling official French currency. The system was administratively convenient and kept real money out of prisoner hands — useful for preventing escape funds and black market activity within the wire.
Each depot issued its own scrip independently, meaning designs, materials, and denominations varied widely between camps. Pink cardboard at the centime level was common for the smallest denominations, where durability mattered less than cheapness of production. Unissued remainders and camp-specific varieties still turn up in French regional collections.