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50 Centimes - Le Mans
| Issuer | Dépôt de Prisonniers de Guerre, 4e Région |
|---|---|
| Year | 1914-1918 |
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| In circulation to | Yes |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Dépôt de Prisonniers de Guerre 4e RÉGION BON de 0.50 cent. No Imp. Ch. Blanchet – 42629 (Translation: Prisoners of War Depot of the 4th Region. Voucher of 50 centimes.) |
| Reverse description | The reverse is entirely blank, carried on the same blue-green paper stock, with no text, vignette, or security device of any kind. |
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| Comments |
French prisoner-of-war camp scrip occupies a peculiar corner of notaphily — issued not by a bank or treasury but by a military administrative body managing enemy combatants on French soil. The 4e Région designation places this camp within the Loire military district; Le Mans, well inland, was used as a holding and transit point for German and Austro-Hungarian prisoners from the earliest weeks of the war. Blanchet was a local commercial printer, not a security press, which shows in the simplicity of the output.
These notes were legal tender only within the wire — prisoners received scrip in lieu of wages for labor details, redeemable at the camp canteen.