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5 Centimes
| Issuer | Ville d'Alger (Municipality of Algiers) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1916 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Black letterpress print on light green paper. The municipal coat of arms of Algiers — a crowned heraldic shield — is centred between two cartouches each bearing the denomination '5c.' in bold numerals. The entire design is enclosed within an ornamental border of repeated floral and scroll motifs, with the printer's imprint 'IMP JOURDAN ALGER' at the lower margin. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Black letterpress print on light green paper. The reverse is dominated by a large oval guilloche vignette with a stippled ground and interlaced foliate scrollwork at centre, within which the denomination '0.f05c.' is printed in large bold numerals. The oval is set within a rectangular border of alternating zigzag and scroll ornaments. |
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| Comments |
Municipal emergency notes of this type were a direct consequence of wartime coin hoarding across French Algeria. By 1916, small-denomination bronze and nickel coinage had effectively vanished from daily commerce — soldiers, merchants, and civilians alike were sitting on metal. Algiers, like dozens of French and North African municipalities, responded by authorizing local paper substitutes to keep low-value transactions moving.
Adolphe Jourdan's Algiers press was the dominant commercial printer in colonial North Africa at the time, handling everything from legal documents to illustrated books. Their involvement here was practical geography, not a procurement decision of any particular note.