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50 Centimes - Chambre de Commerce d'Amiens [80]
| Issuer | Chambre de Commerce d'Amiens |
|---|---|
| Year | 1915 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | 5 November 1920 |
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| Obverse description | Printed in red on white paper with a decorative rectangular border. The centre carries two large guilloche ovals each bearing the value "0,50", flanking the bold denomination inscription "CINQUANTE CENTIMES" in letterpress. The issuer's name "CHAMBRE DE COMMERCE D'AMIENS" appears across the top, with spaces for the Treasurer's and President's manuscript signatures at the lower left and right respectively, the serial number at centre bottom, and the printer's imprint along the foot. |
|---|---|
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| Protection type | Watermark |
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| Comments |
The Chambre de Commerce d'Amiens began issuing emergency small-denomination notes in 1915 because the wartime hoarding of coins — particularly bronze and nickel — had made fractional currency functionally unavailable in everyday commerce. This was not unique to Amiens; chambers of commerce across northern France issued similar necessity paper that year, but the Somme department sat directly behind the Western Front, making the disruption acute and persistent.
Printed locally by the Imprimerie du Progrès de la Somme, the note never left the region it served. The JP# reference covers three distinct issue dates under the same design, distinguished primarily by the printed date.