10 Centimes - Bon de cantine

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.