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5 Centimes
| Issuer | Union des Commerçants d'Orleansville |
|---|---|
| Year | 1916-1918 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Printed in black on grey card stock, the obverse is enclosed within a decorative letterpress border with scrollwork corners and pillar motifs. The issuer legend 'UNION DES COMMERÇANTS' arches across the top, with the large denomination numeral '0f.05' occupying the centre field, and 'D'ORLÉANSVILLE' running along the lower margin. A small printer's imprint appears at the lower right corner. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | UNION DES COMMERÇANTS 0f. 05 D'ORLEANSVILLE (Translation: Merchants Union of Orléansville.) |
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| Comments |
Orleansville — the colonial Algerian town now known as Chlef — saw a proliferation of local emergency token currency during the First World War as small coinage disappeared from circulation across French-administered territories. The Union des Commerçants, a merchants' association rather than a banking institution, filled the void by issuing cardboard necessities in small denominations that the official monetary system simply could not supply.
The card composition makes survival rates unpredictable. Algerian wartime cardboard issues of this type are notoriously prone to edge splits and moisture damage, and the 5 centimes denomination circulated hard.