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50 Centimes - Chambre de Commerce de Toulon et du Var
| Issuer | Chambre de Commerce de Toulon et du Var |
|---|---|
| Year | 1916-1922 |
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| Printer | B. Arnaud, Villeurbanne, France (1898-1990) |
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| Obverse description | Intricate guilloche border in blue-grey frames the note on all four sides, with square corner medallions bearing the denomination numeral '50'. The central field is printed in orange-ochre and displays an architectural arch vignette flanked by two allegorical figures, with a repeated guilloche underprint text pattern filling the background. The issuer's name appears at the top, the large denomination numeral and 'CENTIMES' in bold red letterpress occupy the centre, and the civic arms of Toulon appear at the foot between the manuscript signature lines for the Treasurer and President. |
|---|---|
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| Protection type | Watermark |
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| Comments |
During the First World War, the French state's inability to maintain adequate coin circulation forced hundreds of local chambers of commerce to issue their own emergency paper fractional currency — the so-called monnaie de nécessité. Toulon's chamber, serving a major naval port under considerable wartime strain, issued this 50 centimes note as a direct substitute for the bronze and nickel coins that had vanished into hoarding and metal requisition.
B. Arnaud, a Lyon-based printer with a long record of producing commercial and administrative documents, handled the job. The watermark security was modest by any standard, but sufficient for a note intended to cycle through local commerce rather than resist serious counterfeiting.