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5 centimes - Roche-Maurice
| Issuer | Camp de Prisonniers de Guerre de Roche-Maurice |
|---|---|
| Year | 1914-1918 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 5 Centimes (0.05) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
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| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Printed on pink paper in black letterpress, the obverse carries the camp title in bold serif type across the top, followed by the subtitle identifying the location near Nantes. A serial number and series letter appear in the upper register, with the large-format denomination text 'Bon de Cinq Centimes' occupying the central field. Two manuscript signature lines appear at the foot, respectively below the printed titles of the Assistant Officer and the Commandant, with a circular blue handstamp applied to the left margin alongside vertical text repeating the camp name. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Reverse is entirely blank, printed on the same pink paper stock as the obverse with no text, vignette, or overprint of any kind. |
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| Comments |
Roche-Maurice was one of several French prisoner-of-war camps operating during the First World War where internal scrip replaced metal currency — confiscated from prisoners on arrival and nominally returned at release. These camp-issue notes exist in a legal and numismatic no-man's land: not issued by a state, not backed by any central authority, yet functioning as the sole transactional medium within the wire. Denominations this small reflect the reality of canteen economics, where a few centimes bought tobacco rations or soap.
Survival rates for French POW camp scrip are poor. Paper this thin, handled in conditions that were not gentle, rarely made it out intact.