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50 Centimes Spa
| Issuer | Ville de Spa (Administration Communale de Spa) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1915-1916 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Pale rose foliate underprint with all text and design elements printed in green, except the serial number which appears in black. The denomination is indicated in the upper left corner, with the serial number centered on the note. Three signature lines appear at the bottom for the Receiver, Secretary, and Burgomaster respectively, with the printer's imprint along the lower edge. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | VILLE DE SPA 12-10-15 50 CMES payable par la caisse communale aussitôt le rétablissement de la situation normale. FN 10666 Le Receveur, Le secrétaire, Le Bourgmestre, (signature) (signature) (signature) Spa Imp. Veuve A. Engel-Lievens |
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| Comments |
Belgian commune scrip, issued under German occupation when the authorities stripped copper and nickel coinage from circulation almost immediately after entering Belgium in August 1914. Dozens of towns issued their own emergency paper within months. Spa's version is notable for being printed locally by the widow Engel-Lievens — a small commercial printer with no prior experience producing currency — which shows in the rudimentary security: a single official stamp standing in for everything a proper banknote would carry.
Spa itself was later chosen as German Imperial Headquarters from 1917, and it was in the town's Hotel Britannique that Wilhelm II signed his abdication in November 1918.