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50 Centimes - Chambres de Commerce de Granville et Cherbourg 50
| Issuer | Chambres de Commerce de Granville et Cherbourg |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 1920 CHAMBRES DE COMMERCE DE GRANVILLE ET CHERBOURG 1925 Délibérations du 6 Février 1920 (Granville) et du 7 Mai 1920 (Cherbourg) 50 CENTIMES Echangeable contre des Billets de la Banque de France Le Président de la Chambre de Commerce de Granville Le Président de la Chambre de Commerce de Cherbourg Série B Y. CARAËS. GRAV. GRANVILLE. |
| Reverse description | Printed in brown on cream paper, the reverse centres on a large oval vignette of Mont-Saint-Michel rising from the tidal flats, enclosed within an elaborate acanthus-scroll frame. The denomination 0.50 appears in bold white numerals on dark panels to the left and right of the central vignette, set against a fine stippled guilloche ground. The redemption notice is printed in three lines of spaced capitals along the lower margin. |
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| Comments |
During and after World War One, the French central banking system was so severely strained that hundreds of local chambers of commerce were authorized to issue their own small-denomination emergency notes — a practice that continued well into the early 1920s as coin shortages persisted. The joint issue by the chambers of Granville and Cherbourg reflects a regional cooperation unusual even within that decentralized framework; most chambers issued independently.
Yves Caraës was a local Granville printer, not a specialist security firm, which accounts for the relatively modest production quality. The watermark is the primary — and essentially only — anti-counterfeiting measure employed.