Catalog
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| Issuer | Houillères du Bassin du Nord et du Pas-de-Calais |
|---|---|
| Year | 1945-1948 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1000 Francs |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Plain letterpress print in black on beige paper, with no vignette or ornamental underprint. The issuing authority and group designation appear in two lines at the top, followed by the large-format denomination legend in the centre. Below, the redemption clause is set in smaller type, with the authorising title of the Chief Engineer of Administrative and Commercial Services at lower left; a manuscript signature occupies the lower-left area and a serial number prefixed by 'No' is printed at lower right. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Reverse entirely unprinted, presenting a plain beige paper surface with no text, vignette, or decorative element of any kind. |
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| Comments |
The Houillères du Bassin du Nord et du Pas-de-Calais was a nationalized coal mining authority created by the French government in 1946, consolidating colliery operations across the northern coalfields that had suffered severe damage and disruption under German occupation. Canteen scrip of this kind — "cantine des prisonniers de guerre allemands," referring to German POW labor deployed in the mines — circulated as internal currency within the camps, not in general commerce. These men formed a significant portion of postwar coal extraction labor in northern France as part of Allied reparations arrangements.
The beige paper stock is consistent with wartime and immediate postwar austerity printing. Denominations this high in POW canteen scrip are uncommon.