Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
2 Francs - Chambre de Commerce d'Angoulême [16]
| Issuer | Chambre de Commerce d'Angoulême |
|---|---|
| Year | 1915 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Rectangular |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Dark blue-green letterpress note with a fine guilloche underprint covering the entire field. The central text reads CHAMBRE DE COMMERCE D'ANGOULÊME above the large denomination inscription DEUX FRANCS, flanked on each side by circular vignettes bearing the numeral 2 with allegorical figures at the lower corners. The city arms of Angoulême appear at the top centre within a heraldic shield surmounted by a motto ribbon, with the series designation 1ère Série repeated in ornamental cartouches at the upper left and right; two manuscript signatures of the Treasurer and President appear across the centre, with the emission date 15 Janvier 1915 and a serial number printed below. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Without watermark |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The Chambres de Commerce emergency notes of 1914–1915 filled a genuine void — hoarding and the sudden demands of wartime mobilization drained metallic currency from circulation almost overnight. Angoulême's chamber was among dozens across France authorized to issue small-denomination paper under the law of 5 August 1914, each producing notes locally with whatever printing resources were available.
Keller frères was a regional commercial printer, not a security printing house. The watermarked paper was the principal safeguard against counterfeiting — modest by national standards, but adequate for notes intended for short-term local use.