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50 Centimes - Chambre de Commerce de Bourges 1915
| Issuer | Chambre de Commerce de Bourges |
|---|---|
| Year | 1915 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Ce billet garanti par un dépôt d'égale somme à la Banque de France est délivré et échangé contre billet de banque dans les succursales de la Banque de France du département du Cher. Il devra, sous peine de prescription, y être présenté au remboursement avant le 31 Octobre 1920. Ce billet ne sera valable que revêtu du monogramme spécial de la Chambre de Commerce. A 406716 |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Repeating text watermark 'CHAMBRE DE COMMERCE DE BOURGES' visible through the paper; circular official monogram stamp of the Chambre de Commerce applied on the obverse as a validation mark. |
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| Comments |
When the war disrupted metal supplies and the Banque de France suspended specie payments in August 1914, hundreds of French chambers of commerce scrambled to fill the small-change vacuum left by hoarded coins. Bourges was among the earliest to act, with this 1915 émission de nécessité produced entirely locally — Vve Tardy-Pigelet & Fils printed what J. Tardy designed, keeping the whole production chain within the city.
The watermark and official stamp were the primary safeguards against counterfeiting, a thin line of defense for a note whose authority rested entirely on local commercial trust rather than any national banking guarantee.