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50 centimes - Chambres de Commerce de Granville et Cherbourg [50]
| Issuer | Chambres de Commerce de Granville et de Cherbourg |
|---|---|
| Year | 1921 |
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| Printer | B. Arnaud, Villeurbanne, France (1898-1990) |
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| Obverse description | Printed in red-violet on a dense guilloche underprint formed by the repeated names of the issuing chambers, the obverse carries the bold central denomination '50 CENTIMES' above a vignette of an equestrian statue, flanked by the coats of arms of Granville and Cherbourg. The denomination '0f.50' is repeated in rounded corner panels, while the full issuing authority title runs across the top and two facsimile presidential signatures appear beneath the vignette. A serial-number panel is positioned at the foot, with the printer's imprint 'IMP B.ARNAUD / LYON - PARIS' in the lower margin. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse, also printed in red-violet over a guilloche underprint of repeated chamber names, is centred on a letterpress vignette of Mont-Saint-Michel rising from its rocky tidal island. The denomination '0f.50' appears in rounded panels at upper left and right, while the years '1921' and '1925' occupy rectangular cartouches at lower left and right respectively, and a bordered panel at the foot carries the redemption notice specifying the deadline of 5 February 1925 at the Banque de France branches in Granville or Cherbourg. |
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| Comments |
During and after the First World War, the Banque de France was simply unable to supply enough small-denomination coinage to meet everyday demand, and hundreds of local chambers of commerce across France began issuing their own emergency paper fractional currency — bons de nécessité. The joint issue by the Chambres de Commerce of Granville and Cherbourg reflects a practical arrangement between two Norman port towns whose combined commercial volume warranted a shared series rather than duplicate emissions.
B. Arnaud of Villeurbanne, a specialist in commercial and municipal printing, handled much of this regional emergency work. By 1921 the acute shortage had largely passed, making late-dated issues like this one shorter-lived in circulation than earlier wartime pieces.