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50 Centimes Chamber of Commerce
| Issuer | Chambre de Commerce d'Alger |
|---|---|
| Year | 1915-1919 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Imprimerie Jules Carbonel (Imprimeries La Typo-Litho et Jules Carbonel), Algiers, Algeria |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Plain printed reverse carrying the denomination '50 CENTIMES 50' in large numerals flanking the central text, with the redemption clause stating that the note is exchangeable for Banque de l'Algérie banknotes. |
| Reverse lettering | 50 CENTIMES 50 ECHANGEABLE CONTRE DES BILLETS DE LA BANQUE DE L'ALGÉRIE |
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| Comments |
When the First World War drained metropolitan France of small coinage, chambers of commerce across Algeria were authorized to fill the gap with locally printed emergency paper. Alger's chamber was among the most active, turning to Jules Carbonel — the dominant commercial printer in the city — rather than waiting on shipments from Paris. The result was a note conceived, printed, and circulated entirely within Algeria, a rare instance of the colonial economy functioning independently of the metropole by sheer necessity.
The long issue window, 1915 to 1919, reflects how stubbornly the coin shortage persisted even after the Armistice.