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5 Centimes - Communes de l'Arrondissement de Valenciennes
| Issuer | Communes de l'Arrondissement de Valenciennes |
|---|---|
| Year | 1915 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 55 × 40 mm |
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| Obverse description | Blue-grey letterpress note with a rectangular border enclosing two local architectural vignettes flanking a central guilloche medallion bearing the large numeral '5' and the word 'centimes'. To the left stands the belfry of Valenciennes, and to the right a civic statue on a pedestal; a small decorative cartouche appears at the foot of the central medallion. The series designation 'SÉRIE 3' is printed vertically on both lateral margins, and the issue date 'SEPTEMBRE 1915' appears along the lower margin. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | COMMUNES DE L'ARRONDISS. VALENCIENNES 5 CENTIMES SÉRIE 3 SEPTEMBRE 1915 |
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| Comments |
The arrondissement of Valenciennes fell under German military occupation within weeks of the war's outbreak in August 1914, and by 1915 the pre-war coin supply had effectively vanished — hoarded, melted, or requisitioned. The communes responded by issuing their own small-denomination cardboard tokens collectively, bypassing the individual municipal emissions that most other occupied towns attempted. This pooled authority across the arrondissement was administratively unusual and reflects how thoroughly normal financial infrastructure had collapsed.
Cardboard of this period degrades readily, and survivors with intact edges and legible text are genuinely uncommon.