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2 francs - Chambre de Commerce de Melun [77]
| Issuer | Chambre de Commerce de Melun |
|---|---|
| Year | 1915 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Franc (1795-1959) |
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| Obverse description | Blue letterpress border with ornate guilloche frame enclosing a salmon-orange underprint bearing the repeated text 'CHAMBRE DE COMMERCE DE MELUN'. The denomination 'DEUX FRANCS' is printed in large bold letters at centre, with the issuer's name across the top and the monogram of the Chamber of Commerce flanking the upper corners. Below the denomination appear the signature lines for the Treasurer and the President, a serial number, and the issue date '15 OCTOBRE 1915' within a decorative floral cartouche at foot. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Blue letterpress border with guilloche frame matching the obverse, enclosing a salmon-orange underprint of repeated text. The centre is occupied by two circular medallions side by side: the left bearing the arms of the Chamber of Commerce de Melun with the date '1900', the right inscribed with the towns 'MELUN / PROVINS / FONTAINEBLEAU' and the validity dates '1915-1920'. The denomination '2f.' appears in the upper corners, and a redemption notice in French is printed along the lower margin, with the printer's imprint at bottom right. |
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| Comments |
During the First World War, the Banque de France could not produce small-denomination notes fast enough to meet the demand caused by wartime hoarding of coins. Chambers of commerce across France were authorized by legislation passed in 1914 to fill the gap, issuing their own emergency fractional currency — bons de nécessité — valid only within their own commercial districts. Melun, the Seine-et-Marne prefecture, was among the dozens that did so.
The printer, L. Cassan Aîné of Toulouse, supplied emergency notes to multiple provincial chambers during this period. That a Toulouse firm was handling notes for a chamber in the Île-de-France region is a minor logistical curiosity, likely reflecting available press capacity rather than any geographic preference.