20 Centimes - Union Commerciale et Industrielle - Vincennes [94] Brass

Vincennes issued this chamber of commerce token in 1917 as French wartime metal shortages gutted the nation's small-change supply. The Banque de France had suspended convertibility in 1914, and by 1917 centime coins had virtually vanished from daily transactions — hoarded, melted, or simply worn out with no replacement. Dozens of French municipalities and commercial associations filled the gap with locally-issued brass and aluminum nécessité tokens, redeemable only within their issuing territory. The Union Commerciale et Industrielle de Vincennes was one of hundreds of such bodies to take matters into its own hands.