Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
50 Centimes - Chambres de commerce d'Alençon et de Flers [61]
| Issuer | Chambres de Commerce d'Alençon et de Flers |
|---|---|
| Year | 1915 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | 31 December 1920 |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Blue and ochre letterpress note with an elaborate lace-pattern guilloche border in deep blue enclosing a central ochre panel. The denomination 50 CENTIMES is printed in large bold type at centre, flanked by two municipal coats of arms with laurel sprays. The issuing authority CHAMBRES DE COMMERCE D'ALENÇON ET DE FLERS, ORNE is inscribed across the top of the central panel, with the authorising deliberation date below. Two manuscript signatures appear at lower left and lower right, assigned respectively to the President of the Chambre de Commerce d'Alençon and the Vice-Président of the Chambre de Commerce de Flers, with an exchangeability clause referencing the Banque de France. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Blue and ochre reverse with a dense floral and berry garland border in blue enclosing a plain ochre field. A cartouche at the top carries the issuer's name. The central area contains a full French-language redemption text stating that the note is exchangeable at the Banque de France branches in Alençon or Flers and must be presented for reimbursement before 31 December 1920. The denomination 0 fr. 50 c. appears in a rectangular tablet at the foot of the note. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
This note is one of several emergency fractional issues put out jointly by the Chambres de Commerce of Alençon and Flers during the early months of WWI, when the hoarding of coins — silver especially — created a genuine small-change crisis across provincial France. The joint issuing authority was unusual; most French departmental emergency notes came from a single chamber, but Alençon and Flers coordinated across the Orne to pool resources and distribution.
The JP reference spans multiple catalogue numbers, reflecting variant dates or control differences within the series rather than distinct designs. Worth checking the date carefully before cataloguing further.