50 Centimes - Chambre de Commerce de Montluçon - Gannat 03

The Chambres de Commerce emergency note issues of 1914–1924 emerged because small-denomination coinage vanished from circulation almost immediately after mobilization — hoarded by the public and consumed by the war economy. Montluçon-Gannat was one of hundreds of regional commercial chambers authorized to plug the gap, and Herbin & Bouché, a local Montluçon printer, handled the job entirely in-house rather than through one of the large specialist firms like Imprimerie de la Banque de France or Champeaux.

By 1920 the acute shortage had eased, and most chamber issues were being recalled. This note was printed late in the cycle.