50 centimes - Chambre de Commerce de Marseille [13]

When the outbreak of war in August 1914 triggered an immediate hoarding of metallic currency across France, chambers of commerce throughout the country were authorized under emergency decree to issue their own small-denomination paper notes — bons de nécessité — to keep local commerce functioning. Marseille's chamber moved quickly, and the Moullot firm, a well-established local printing house with deep roots in Marseille's commercial print trade, produced this note without the delay that plagued chambers relying on Paris suppliers.

JP#79.1 is the first in the Marseille chamber's wartime series. The watermark is the sole security feature — modest by banking standards, but sufficient for a note intended for short-term emergency use rather than long-term circulation.