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20 francs - Bon de Solidarité
| Issuer | Secours National |
|---|---|
| Year | 1940-1944 |
| Type | Vouchers |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Plain cream central panel carrying the bond's explanatory text in letterpress, flanked by the same blue and orange guilloche star-pattern underprint as the obverse. To the left, a heraldic shield bearing the Vichy francisque symbol in dark blue and red is set into the guilloche field. The large numeral "20" appears at the right edge in bold black letterpress, and a serial number is printed at the top centre. |
| Reverse lettering | CE BON N'A AUCUNE VALEUR MONÉTAIRE. Il ne représente pas de capital, il ne rapporte pas d'intérêt. Des centaines de milliers de prisonniers de guerre attendent avec impatience le colis qui leur apportera quelques douceurs. En achetant ce bon, vous permettez à 4 prisonniers sans famille de recevoir chacun une demi-livre de chocolat. Plus vous souscrivez de bons de solidarité, plus vous contribuerez à améliorer le sort des captifs. SECOURS NATIONAL CROIX-ROUGE FRANÇAISE COMITÉ CENTRAL D'ASSISTANCE AUX PRISONNIERS DE GUERRE Tout bon détaché de sa souche ne pourra plus être vendu. |
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| Comments |
The Bons de Solidarité were not currency in any orthodox sense. The Secours National — a state-backed French relief organization operating under Vichy — issued these as charitable donation receipts, denominated to give the transaction the feel of a purchase rather than a gift. Citizens were strongly encouraged, often by social and professional pressure, to buy them. The proceeds funded welfare programs under a regime that simultaneously dismantled the institutions those programs had once supported.
They circulated as quasi-monetary instruments in some locales but had no legal tender status and no redemption value. Survival rates are relatively high — many were kept as receipts rather than spent.