5 Francs Maison du Colon

The Maison du Colon was a French colonial social club in Tunis, and this 5 Franc note dates from 1942 — when Tunisia was under Vichy administration but on the brink of the North African campaign. Allied landings in November 1942 brought German and Italian forces into Tunisia almost immediately, and the country became a war zone within weeks of this note's likely issue window. Small-denomination scrip of this type was printed to handle internal transactions when coin shortages made change impossible.

The repurposing of the club as an American Officers' Club came after the Axis surrender in May 1943, which creates a genuine ambiguity in the catalog name — the "American Officer's Club" designation reflects postwar renaming, not the institution that actually issued this note.