Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
50 Centimes - Chambre de Commerce de Libourne 33
| Issuer | Chambre de Commerce de Libourne |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
| 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 | Brown and cream letterpress note with a guilloche underprint repeating the issuer's name across the field. A central vignette presents the caduceus-topped arms of the Chambre de Commerce de Libourne set within an ornate foliate surround, flanked by the deliberation date. The denomination '50 Cent.es' appears in large bold type on a dark central band, with a reimbursement clause inscribed below and two manuscript signatures of the Treasurer and President above a serial number at foot. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Brown on cream letterpress reverse, with a central oval vignette encircled by a pearl border and laurel branches, presenting two allegorical female figures flanking the municipal coat of arms of Libourne. The denomination '50c.' is repeated in two dark circular cartouches at left and right, while a decorative ribbon scroll at the base carries the issuer's name. The printer's imprint appears in small type along the lower margin. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Libourne's Chamber of Commerce, like hundreds of provincial French bodies, stepped in to fill a genuine vacuum — the wartime hoarding of metal coinage had never fully resolved itself by 1920, and small denominations remained stubbornly absent from everyday commerce in the Gironde. These emergency fractional notes were a local fix for a national failure, issued under authorization ultimately traced to the law of 30 June 1916.
Wetterwald Frères in Bordeaux handled a considerable volume of similar necessity issues across the southwest, making regional attribution of the printing relatively straightforward for this series. The watermark is the sole security provision — modest, but consistent with the tier.