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25 Centimes - Syndicats Commerciaux des Pyrénées Orientales
| Issuer | Syndicats Commerciaux des Pyrénées Orientales |
|---|---|
| Year | 1916 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Franc (1795-1959) |
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| Obverse description | The face is enclosed within a vegetal border with four circular corner medallions each bearing the denomination numeral '25'. At the upper centre, a circular vignette contains the armorial bearings of the Pyrénées-Orientales department, flanked by two laurel branches and surmounted by a crown. The central field carries the issuing authority's name and emission details in letterpress. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The back carries a classical allegorical vignette in lithographic style illustrating Hermes, messenger of the Olympian gods, and Hephaestus, god of fire and the forge, both seated and clasping hands. Hephaestus holds a hammer in his left hand, and an anvil appears in the lower foreground. A caduceus panel is depicted to the left and a rustic hut panel to the right, framing the central group. |
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| Comments |
Emergency small-change scrip, issued by a commercial syndicate in Perpignan when the wartime hoarding of metal coinage created an acute shortage of fractional currency across France. The Syndicats Commerciaux des Pyrénées Orientales was one of dozens of regional chambers and trade bodies that stepped into the vacuum left by the state, producing locally valid substitutes under a framework tacitly tolerated by the Treasury. Louis Delfau, a local artist with roots in Roussillon decorative work, handled the design — an unusual choice that gave this series a slightly more considered appearance than the purely functional scrip issued elsewhere.