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50 centimes - Chambre de Commerce de Bayonne 64
| Issuer | Chambre de Commerce de Bayonne |
|---|---|
| Year | 1919-1922 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Franc (1795-1959) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Printed entirely in green on a pale ground, the obverse carries a fine guilloche underprint with the word 'PONTIFE' repeated across the field. The denomination '50 CENTIMES' is set in bold letterpress at centre, flanked by two ornate cartouches each enclosing '50c', surmounted by caduceus vignettes. The issuing authority, deliberation date, series letter, serial number, and signature lines for the Treasurer and President appear above and below the central inscription. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | DÉPARTEMENT DES BASSES-PYRÉNÉES NUNQUAM POLLUTA VIGDET FIDE URBIS PALLADIUM ET GENIUS Ce billet devra être présenté au remboursement avant le 1er Décembre 1924 |
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| Comments |
French Chambers of Commerce were authorized to issue emergency paper money in 1914 when the outbreak of war caused an immediate and severe shortage of small change — coins were hoarded almost instantly. The Bayonne chamber was among scores of provincial bodies that produced their own fractional notes, and they continued circulating well into the early 1920s as the French state struggled to restore a functioning token coinage. The series ran across two catalog references (JP#21-61 and JP#21-62), indicating at least two distinct printing variants within the issue period.
Bayonne sits at the intersection of Gascon and Basque commercial territory, and its chamber drew on a merchant base tied to the Adour river trade. Nothing exotic in that, but it explains why this particular chamber remained active in note issuance longer than some northern counterparts whose coin supply normalized earlier.