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5 centimes - Le Mans
| Issuer | Dépôt de Prisonniers de Guerre, 4e Région |
|---|---|
| Year | 1914-1918 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Franc (1795-1959) |
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| Obverse description | Plain typeset voucher printed in black on light green paper, enclosed within a simple ruled rectangular border with a decorative scroll pattern along the left edge. The denomination "0.05 cent." is set in large bold numerals at centre, with the issuing authority and region inscribed above in letterpress. A circular blue administrative handstamp is applied to the lower left, and a serial number appears at the foot of the note above the printer's imprint. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Reverse is entirely blank, printed on unadorned plain paper with no text, vignette, or ornamental design, showing only the natural aging and fold lines of the stock. |
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| Comments |
France organized its prisoner-of-war camps by military region during the First World War, and the 4e Région — headquartered at Le Mans — issued its own internal scrip precisely because conventional currency could not be permitted to circulate freely among POW populations. The concern was practical: money that could leave the camp was a resource for escape. Denominations this small were designed for canteen use only, keeping any transaction within the wire.
Ch. Blanchet was a local Le Mans printer with no particular connection to the Banque de France. The printing is functional rather than secure — which matters, because camp scrip of this type was routinely counterfeited by prisoners, and surviving examples occasionally show crude forgeries that passed without detection.