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5 Centimes - Ville de Lille [59]
| Issuer | Ville de Lille (Municipality of Lille) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1917 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Obverse description | The central field is enclosed within a rectangular border, with a decorative torch motif flanking each side. An inner rectangle bears a ribbon cartouche at the top inscribed with the city name, surrounded by foliate ornamentation. The face carries the full municipal guarantee text including the council deliberation date of 31 October 1917 and instructions for redemption at the municipal treasury. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is enclosed within a rectangular frame with a caduceus vignette set within foliate scrollwork at each corner. To the left, the municipal control stamp bears the heraldic lily of Lille. |
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| Comments |
Lille was under German military occupation from October 1914 until the armistice, and the city's municipal government was left to manage a civilian economy almost entirely cut off from the French national banking system. This note is one of the emergency issues produced locally under occupation — the printer, Delemar & Dubar, was a Lille firm operating under those same constrained conditions, which makes the watermark security feature a quietly determined gesture toward anti-counterfeiting discipline in genuinely difficult circumstances.
Small-denomination municipal scrip of this kind was produced because fractional coinage had largely vanished from circulation, hoarded or requisitioned.