2 Francs - Nevers

Prisoner-of-war camp scrip occupies an unusual corner of French notaphily. The Dépôt de Prisonniers de Guerre de Nevers issued these notes for internal circulation within the camp — a closed monetary system designed to let German prisoners purchase goods from the canteen while preventing French currency from passing into enemy hands. The logic was administrative as much as security-minded.

Nevers, a prefectural town in the Nièvre department, held prisoners throughout the war years. Camp scrip from smaller provincial depots like this one survived in far lower quantities than the more documented issues from larger military installations, and the Nevers series remains among the harder French POW issues to trace with complete series data.