Catalog
5 Centimes
| Issuer | Ville de Blida (Commune of Blida, Department of Alger) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1916 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Rectangular |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Typeset bon de nécessité printed in black on light grey paper, enclosed within a simple rectangular border with decorative corner ornaments. The heading VILLE DE BLIDA appears in bold capitals at the top, followed by the authorising municipal council resolution text dated 5 October 1916. The denomination 0fr.05 is set in large bold numerals at centre-lower, flanked to the right by the designation LE MAIRE with a manuscript mayoral signature below. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | VILLE DE BLIDA Exécution d'une délibération du Conseil Municipal du 5 Octobre 1916 BON POUR 0fr.05 LE MAIRE |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Blida is one of dozens of Algerian communes that resorted to locally printed emergency fractional notes during the First World War, when the withdrawal of small coins from circulation left municipalities with no practical way to make change. The Chambre de Commerce issues from Algiers and Oran are better known; the smaller commune issues like this one from Blida are considerably harder to locate today, largely because they circulated hard and were never systematically preserved.
S. Léon was a commercial printer in Algiers, not a security printing house. The absence of any serious anti-counterfeiting technology was accepted as an unavoidable compromise at 5 centimes.