Catalog
5 Centimes
| Issuer | Union des Commerçants de Barbaira |
|---|---|
| Year | |
| Type | Emergency coin |
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| 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 |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse presents a large raised denomination '5c.' in an ornate serif typeface at the centre of the field, enclosed within a continuous inner circle of raised beads forming a dotted border. The surrounding field between the beaded inner circle and the milled outer rim is plain and unadorned, lending the design a clean, minimalist appearance. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | 5c. |
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| Additional information |
Barbaira is a small commune in the Aude department of southern France, and this piece is a product of the widespread nécessité coinage movement that flourished in France during and after World War I, when the chronic shortage of small change drove local merchants' associations to issue their own token currency. The Union des Commerçants — a voluntary association of local traders — produced these aluminium jetons to keep retail transactions moving when centimes had effectively vanished from circulation into hoarding.
The El Monedero reference confirms its catalogued status among French local necessity issues, a category that numbers in the thousands across communes large and small.