5 Centimes - Roanne

French prisoner-of-war camps operated internal scrip systems during the First World War because regular coinage was hoarded out of circulation almost immediately after mobilization in 1914. The 13th Military Region, headquartered at Lyon, administered the Roanne depot, and these small-denomination notes functioned as canteen currency — usable only within the wire, redeemable for nothing outside it.

The 5-centime value is the lowest practical denomination in the series, intended for tobacco and minor provisions. Paper at this level of camp scrip was often produced locally with minimal security printing, making counterfeiting within the camp itself a documented nuisance at several comparable French depots.