2 Francs - Chambre de Commerce d'Angoulême [16]

The Chambres de Commerce emergency notes of World War One exist because the French state had effectively lost control of small-denomination coinage by 1914 — hoarding stripped the country of centimes and low-franc pieces almost immediately after mobilization. Regional chambers were authorized to fill the gap, and Angoulême, a town with deep roots in the French paper industry going back centuries, had at least the raw material advantage when it came to producing its own.

Javanaud was a local printer, not a security specialist, which is worth knowing when evaluating any example from this series.