10 Centimes - Chambre de Commerce - Marseille [13] Aluminium Pattern

Historical Context: The 1916 10 Centimes Aluminium Pattern from the Chambre de Commerce of Marseille [13] represents a critical response to the severe coinage shortages plaguing France during World War I. With official issues hoarded or melted for wartime production, local authorities, including the Commune of Marseille and its influential Chamber of Commerce, resorted to issuing emergency currency (monnaie de nécessité). This aluminium pattern, a lightweight and readily available metal, signifies the preliminary stages of designing such a crucial local issue to ensure commercial transactions continued in the vital port city of Marseille.

Artistry: While a specific engraver for this pattern is not widely documented, the design likely reflects the utilitarian yet civic-minded aesthetic prevalent in French necessity coinage of the era. Such issues typically emphasized clear legibility of denomination and issuer, often incorporating local symbols like city arms or allegories of commerce and industry. Given its status as a pattern, the piece would have been meticulously crafted to present the proposed design for approval, showcasing the desired artistic clarity and functional layout for a mass-produced emergency coin.

Technical/Grading: For this 10 Centimes Aluminium Pattern, key grading considerations focus on the preservation of its delicate surfaces and the sharpness of its strike. As aluminium is a soft metal, contact marks, nicks, and abrasions are common and significantly impact grade. High points susceptible to wear or friction include any central motifs (e.g., civic emblems, allegorical figures if present), the raised lettering, and the outer rim. Pristine fields, free from handling marks or oxidation, and a full, crisp strike indicative of its pattern status, are paramount for top-tier examples.