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50 Centimes - Groupement de Commerçants - Poissy [78]
| Issuer | Groupement de Commerçants de Poissy |
|---|---|
| Year | |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 Centimes (0.50) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Square zinc token with rounded corners, featuring a central round hole through which the obverse design is oriented. The circular legend GROUPEMENT DE COMMERÇANTS DE POISSY runs along the upper and lateral portions of the field in raised Latin lettering, arranged concentrically around the central perforation. In the lower portion of the field, flanking the hole, the inscription MARQUE DÉPOSÉE appears in two parts, separated by a small decorative emblem resembling a caduceus or merchant's symbol. The overall field is plain and unadorned beyond the lettering, with the square format and perforation being characteristic features of French emergency merchant tokens of the early twentieth century. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Poissy's merchant association issued zinc emergency tokens during the German occupation of France in World War II, when Vichy-era metal requisitioning and disrupted supply chains made small-denomination coinage effectively vanish from daily commerce. Local trade groups across occupied France filled the gap with privately struck nécessité tokens, authorized at the communal level but carrying no official government backing. Zinc was the concession metal of the occupation — copper and nickel had been requisitioned, and zinc was what remained.