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50 Centimes - Pipaix
| Issuer | Commune de Pipaix (Province of Hainaut) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1940 |
| Type | Emergency banknote |
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| Obverse description | Typeset entirely in letterpress on salmon-pink paper in dark ink, the obverse centres on the large numeral 0,50 flanked by ornamental floral typographic vignettes, with the legend BON COMMUNAL DE above the denomination. The municipality name PIPAIX is set in large bold capitals at the top, bounded by pairs of horizontal double rules on each side, while the issuing authority reference L'échevin appears to the right and the date 3-6-1940 at lower left. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | = PIPAIX = BON COMMUNAL DE 0,50 L'échevin, 3-6-1940 |
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| Comments |
Pipaix is a village of a few hundred inhabitants in the Wallonian municipality of Leuze-en-Hainaut. That a commune this small was printing its own fractional currency in 1940 reflects the speed with which the German invasion collapsed Belgian monetary circulation — local authorities across Hainaut improvised emergency small change within days of the May offensive, long before any coordinated national response was in place.
These hyper-local issues were typically authorized by the burgomaster and redeemable only within the issuing commune, which kept most of them close to home. Survival rates vary wildly by village.