25 Centimes emergency postage WWI

New Caledonia's postage stamp emergency currency issues were a direct response to the chronic small-change shortage that plagued French colonial territories during and after the First World War. Metal coinage had largely disappeared from circulation — hoarded, melted, or simply never reaching the islands in sufficient quantity — so the Trésorerie mounted stamps on cardboard backing to produce a functional substitute. Vollet, a French engraver and designer with colonial issue credits across multiple territories, provided the original stamp artwork that these pieces repurpose.

The 1920–1923 date range reflects ongoing reissue rather than a single print run, suggesting the shortage persisted well past the armistice.