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50 Centimes Chamber of Commerce
| Issuer | Chambre de Commerce d'Alger |
|---|---|
| Year | 1915-1919 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 Centimes (0.50) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Letterpress-printed note in red on cream paper, centred on a large oval guilloche border enclosing the denomination '50 CENTIMES' in bold black numerals and letters, with the Arabic equivalent beneath. To the upper left of the oval is the crowned heraldic shield of Algiers, and to the right a circular vignette bearing the caduceus and palm tree emblem of the Chambre de Commerce d'Alger. The inscriptions 'CHAMBRE DE COMMERCE D'ALGER' and 'DÉLIBÉRATION DU 25 JUIN 1919' arc across the top, with the series and serial number printed at the foot, flanked by the printer's imprint 'IMP. J. CARBONEL – ALGER'. Two manuscript signatures appear within the oval above the titles 'Le Président' and 'Le Secrétaire Trésorier'. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | CHAMBRE DE COMMERCE D'ALGER DÉLIBÉRATION DU 25 JUIN 1919 50 CENTIMES عشرة سوردى Le Président Le Secrétaire Trésorier SÉRIE N° IMP. J. CARBONEL ALGER |
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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.