Agen's Chamber of Commerce issued this 2-franc note in 1917 under the emergency authorization extended to French provincial commercial bodies when the wartime coin shortage became acute. The Ministry of Finance's 1914 circular had permitted Chambres de Commerce to emit low-denomination paper as substitute coinage, and by 1917 the system was well-established — hundreds of distinct local issues were circulating simultaneously across France, each redeemable only within its issuing department.
The Lot-et-Garonne series is catalogued under JP#2 within the Pirot classification. The watermark is one of the few security concessions made at this denomination; higher-value emergency notes from the period often relied on little more than serial numbering.
Agen's Chamber of Commerce issued this 2-franc note in 1917 under the emergency authorization extended to French provincial commercial bodies when the wartime coin shortage became acute. The Ministry of Finance's 1914 circular had permitted Chambres de Commerce to emit low-denomination paper as substitute coinage, and by 1917 the system was well-established — hundreds of distinct local issues were circulating simultaneously across France, each redeemable only within its issuing department.
The Lot-et-Garonne series is catalogued under JP#2 within the Pirot classification. The watermark is one of the few security concessions made at this denomination; higher-value emergency notes from the period often relied on little more than serial numbering.