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50 Centimes Chambre de commerce
| Issuer | Chambre de Commerce de Djibouti |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 2.67 g |
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| Obverse description | Plain hexagonal field bearing three lines of incuse Latin legend arranged concentrically: the curved inscription 'CHAMBRE DE COMMERCE' arches across the upper portion following the outline of the coin, the issuing city name 'DJIBOUTI' appears prominently across the centre in bold block letters, and the date '1920' is positioned in the lower field. A row of small decorative dots frames the upper legend along the interior edge. The design is entirely typographic, with no figurative elements, reflecting the utilitarian character of this wartime emergency issue. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Djibouti's Chambre de Commerce began issuing its own token coinage in 1920 precisely because the French colonial monetary supply was chronically inadequate for small retail transactions — French Somaliland had no local mint and depended entirely on imported specie that rarely filtered down to low-denomination circulation. These chamber issues filled that gap as a matter of commercial necessity, not official policy.
The nickel-zinc alloy reflects wartime and postwar metal constraints that continued shaping small-denomination coinage well into the early 1920s.