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50 Centimes - Chambre de Commerce d'Aurillac [15]
| Issuer | Chambre de Commerce d'Aurillac et du Cantal |
|---|---|
| Year | 1917-1923 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Brown letterpress note with an elaborate decorative border of acanthus scrollwork enclosing five oval and shield-shaped vignettes along the top edge bearing civic and commercial emblems. The central composition presents the arms of Aurillac — a heraldic shield charged with fleurs-de-lis — supported by two seated putti, with the denomination "50 CENTIMES" in a central cartouche flanked by the dates 1915 and 1920. Two manuscript facsimile signatures appear above the serial number panel, identified as Le Trésorier and Le Président respectively, with "RF" monograms in guilloche ovals at each side. |
|---|---|
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| Protection type | Watermark |
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| Comments |
French chambers of commerce were authorized to issue emergency small-denomination notes during the First World War to address a severe shortage of bronze and nickel coinage, most of which had been hoarded or melted down. The Aurillac chamber, serving the Cantal department in the Auvergne, commissioned local printer Delostal & Germa rather than one of the major Parisian houses — a choice that kept production entirely within the department. Designer Félix Tourdes was also a local figure, responsible for much of the chamber's printed material during this period.
The authorization extended well past the Armistice, with the series remaining valid through 1923 as coin shortages persisted into the early postwar years.