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| Issuer | Chambre de Commerce de Calais |
|---|---|
| Year | 1919 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 Centimes (0.50) |
| 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 | CHAMBRE DE COMMERCE DE CALAIS RF 50 CENTIMES Le Trésorier Le Président SERIE B 103023 Septième émission LITH. ROY & VALADE, AMIENS |
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| Reverse lettering | Remboursement en billets de la Banque de France un an après la signature de la Paix. Dans un délai de cinq ans après cette date tous les billets encore en circulation devront être présentés au remboursement. |
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| Comments |
French chambers of commerce issued their own emergency notes during and after the First World War to compensate for the chronic shortage of small-denomination coinage — a problem that had plagued circulation since 1914. Calais was particularly affected, given its role as a major Allied logistics hub throughout the conflict. By the seventh emission in 1919, the Chambre de Commerce de Calais had been managing its own parallel small-change economy for several years, with Roy & Valade in Amiens handling the print runs for much of the series.
The watermark is the only security measure — modest by any standard, but consistent with wartime and postwar austerity in production costs across the chambre de commerce issues generally.