Catalog
50 Centimes - Chambre de Commerce de Dunkerque 59
| Issuer | Chambre de Commerce de Dunkerque |
|---|---|
| Year | |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 Centimes (0.50) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Printed in green on cream paper, the obverse is framed by an ornate letterpress border with guilloche corner panels bearing the denomination '50c' in each angle. A winged caduceus vignette surmounts the composition at the top centre, flanked by scrollwork. The centre field carries the issuer's title in two lines above the large-format denomination '50 CENTIMES', with the arms of Dunkerque rendered as a pale underprint behind the signature area. Two manuscript signatures appear below the denomination, attributed to the Treasurer and the President of the Chamber of Commerce respectively, with the serial number printed in a ruled cartouche at the foot. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Watermark present in the paper sheets |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
French Chambers of Commerce were authorized to issue emergency small-denomination notes during the First World War to address an acute shortage of coin — silver and copper had vanished from circulation almost overnight in August 1914. Dunkerque's chamber produced this 50 centimes note as a direct response, with Imprimerie Chaix in Paris handling the printing work. Chaix was primarily known as a poster and timetable printer, not a security press, which tells you something about how improvised this whole system was.
The JP# reference covering four catalog variants suggests multiple emission dates or serial ranges across the series lifetime.