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50 Centimes - Chambre de Commerce de Blois 41
| Issuer | Chambre de Commerce de Blois |
|---|---|
| Year | 1915 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 93 × 52 mm |
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| Obverse description | Blue letterpress note with a decorative floral and foliate border enclosing a text field set against a fine typographic guilloche underprint repeating the issuer name. The department name "LOIR-ET-CHER" appears in a cartouche at the top centre, with the issuer title "CHAMBRE DE COMMERCE DE BLOIS" and the large denomination numeral "50 CENTIMES" occupying the upper portion of the field. Below, two manuscript signatures appear beneath the printed titles "Le Trésorier" and "Le Président", flanking a stamped serial number, with the issue date "16 Août 1915" in a cartouche at the foot; the printer's imprint appears at the lower left margin. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Blue letterpress reverse with the same decorative floral and foliate border, "50c" denomination numerals in oval cartouches at each corner. The validity date range "1915 - 1917" appears in a cartouche at the top centre, and a three-paragraph guarantee text occupies the left portion of the field. To the right, a circular ink stamp of the "CHAMBRE DE COMMERCE DE BLOIS ET DE LOIR-ET-CHER" bearing a crowned heraldic device is applied. The redemption deadline date "16 Août 1917" appears in a cartouche at the foot centre. |
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| Comments |
Emergency small-change notes issued by French chambers of commerce during the First World War were a direct response to the near-total disappearance of coinage from circulation — silver and copper hoarded or diverted to the war economy almost immediately after mobilization in August 1914. The Blois chamber was one of dozens that turned to local and regional printers to fill the gap, and L. Cassan Ainé in Toulouse supplied several such issues across the south and centre of France.
The JP#28 series is well-documented but not particularly rare in circulated grade. Uncirculated survivors are another matter — most of these notes did exactly what they were supposed to do, and show it.