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50 Centimes - Chambre de Commerce de Villefranche-sur-Saône 69
| Issuer | Chambre de Commerce de Villefranche-sur-Saône |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Obverse description | Blue letterpress on a salmon-pink underprint bearing a repeated text watermark pattern reading CHAMBRE DE COMMERCE DE VILLEFRANCHE SUR SAONE. A central oval vignette carries the issuer's name in two lines above the large denomination numeral and series inscription, flanked at upper centre by the municipal coat of arms of Villefranche-sur-Saône. The four corners each bear a circular guilloche medallion with the numeral 50, and the border is ornamented with vine leaves, grape clusters, and thistle motifs. Signature lines for Le Trésorier and Le Président appear below the denomination, with the printer's imprint at the foot. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Blue letterpress on the same salmon-pink repeated-text underprint as the obverse. At the top centre, a caduceus vignette flanked by wings serves as the sole pictorial element. The emission date is inscribed in a single line below, followed by the denomination rendered in large cursive script within the central oval. The lower portion of the oval carries a five-line legal text setting out the redemption conditions, printed in a smaller roman typeface. Corner guilloche medallions and the foliate border repeat the obverse decorative scheme. |
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| Comments |
French chambers of commerce were authorized to issue emergency small-denomination notes during and after the First World War to alleviate the chronic shortage of coinage — silver and nickel had been hoarded or absorbed by wartime industry. By 1920, the Villefranche-sur-Saône chamber was still actively circulating its own fractional paper, a full two years after the Armistice, reflecting how slowly the French monetary system restabilized.
X. Perroux & Fils of Macon produced a substantial number of these regional necessity issues for chambers across the Rhône-Alpes area. The watermark on this series is one of the few security concessions typical of Perroux production at this scale.