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2 Francs - Hospital du Mas-Éloi
| Issuer | Hôpital du Mas-Éloi |
|---|---|
| Year | 1914-1921 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 2 Francs |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Printed in black on orange paper, the voucher bears the institution name and subtitle in bold letterpress at the top, followed by the denomination in large characters at centre. A serial number field appears in the upper right corner. Below the denomination, a manuscript signature appears above the printed designation of the issuing officer. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Plain orange paper reverse bearing a circular handstamp impression reading MAS-ÉLOI with a star device, applied in black ink. The stamp appears offset toward the upper left quadrant of the note. |
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| Comments |
Hôpital du Mas-Éloi was a psychiatric asylum near Béziers, in the Hérault department of southern France. Like many French institutions — communes, chambers of commerce, industrial enterprises, and hospitals — it issued its own small-denomination necessity currency during the severe coin shortage that gripped France from 1914 onward, when hoarding stripped bronze and nickel from circulation almost overnight.
Asylum-issued bons are among the more unusual categories of French emergency currency. Circulation was effectively internal, intended for use within the institution's own economy — patient canteens, workshop transactions, staff purchases. Orange paper distinguishes this denomination within the institution's series.