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50 Centimes - Chambres de Commerce d'Avignon
| Issuer | Chambre de Commerce d'Avignon |
|---|---|
| Year | 1915-1917 |
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| Printer | Berger-Levrault, Nancy, France |
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| Obverse description | A botanical guilloche border with bee vignettes at each corner frames the note. At the upper centre, the blazon of the city of Avignon is displayed, flanked by the coats of arms of Carpentras to the left and Orange to the right, with the arms of Apt positioned below. The denomination and issuing authority occupy the central field, with the serial number and facsimile signatures of the President and Secretary-Treasurer in the lower portion. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | PREMIÈRE ÉMISSION DE REMPLACEMENT 1917 CHAMBRE DE COMMERCE D`AVIGNON 0,50 Les bons de 2 francs, 1 franc et 50 centimes de la Chambre de Commerce d`Avignon sont émis sous sa responsabilité et sa garantie. Ils sont toujours échangeables, par sommes rondes de 50 francs au moins, contre des billets de la Banque de France. Leur émission étant faite, pour une durée de cinq ans, en vertu d`une délibération du 11 août 1915, ils devront être présentés, avant le 11 août 1920, au remboursement définitif. Ce remboursement est garanti par le dépôt à la Banque de France de leur contre-valeur en billets de banque. 0,50 0,50 |
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| Comments |
French chambers of commerce stepped into the currency vacuum created by the near-total hoarding of small coins that followed the outbreak of war in 1914. The Banque de France simply could not keep fractional coinage in circulation — it disappeared into mattresses and jam jars almost the moment it was issued — so regional commercial bodies like the Chambre de Commerce d'Avignon received authorization from the French Treasury to print their own emergency paper fractions.
Berger-Levrault, a Nancy-based printer with deep roots in official and military publishing, handled production for numerous such emergency issues. The watermark security was modest by any standard, but sufficient given the strictly local scope of intended circulation.