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5 Centimes
| Issuer | Union Commerciale et Industrielle de Bernay |
|---|---|
| Year | 1921 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Milled |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | The large denomination numeral 5 with a stylised cursive c occupies the upper portion of the field, indicating the face value of 5 centimes. Below, an elegantly rendered branch of an apple tree bearing fruit and foliage spreads across the lower field in low relief, referencing the Norman agricultural heritage of the Bernay region. The maker's name THEVENON appears incuse along the left inner border. The design is contained within a plain raised rim. |
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| Additional information |
Bernay's Union Commerciale et Industrielle was one of hundreds of French provincial trade associations that filled the small-denomination void left by wartime metal requisitions — a shortage that stubbornly persisted into the early 1920s well after the Armistice. The French state had demonetized bronze centimes during the war, and official replacements were slow and uneven in distribution, leaving local chambers and merchant unions to issue their own aluminium jetons de nécessité.
The El Monnier reference places this squarely in the documented corpus of French necessity coinage, catalogued systematically only decades after most pieces had disappeared from daily use.