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50 Centimes - Chambre de Commerce de Lons-le-Saunier 39C
| Issuer | Chambre de Commerce de Lons-le-Saunier |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Printed in dark blue on a cream ground, the reverse carries a richly ornamented letterpress design with a dense floral and scrollwork border. Four heraldic shields occupy the corners, representing local towns of the Jura region. A central cartouche enclosed in baroque scrollwork bears the redemption notice, while the large denomination legend CINQUANTE CENTIMES is set within an oval frame at the foot of the design; the printer's imprint appears along the lower margin. |
| Reverse lettering | CE BILLET GARANTI PAR DÉPÔT D'ÉGALE SOMME A LA BANQUE DE FRANCE DEVRA SOUS PEINE DE PRESCRIPTION ÊTRE PRÉSENTÉ AU REMBOURSEMENT AVANT LE 1er DÉCEMBRE 1920 PAPETERIE UNIVERSELLE LYON-PARIS |
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| Comments |
Lons-le-Saunier is the prefecture of the Jura department, and like hundreds of French chambres de commerce, it issued its own small-denomination emergency currency during and after the First World War to compensate for the chronic shortage of metallic coinage. The Banque de France had effectively stopped circulating bronze and nickel pieces — hoarding and wartime metal demand had seen to that — leaving local commerce to fend for itself through a patchwork of regional paper issues.
Papeterie Universelle, the Lyon-based printer responsible for this note, produced a significant volume of these provincial emergency issues across the Rhône-Alpes region. The watermark security feature is modest but present, distinguishing the series from the more rudimentary typographic issues produced by smaller local printers.