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50 Francs Service des prisonniers de guerre
| Issuer | Ministère de la Guerre, Service des Prisonniers de Guerre |
|---|---|
| Year | 1945-1947 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 Francs |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Green and black print on a pink underprint, with the denomination value at centre and a floral background pattern. Lengthy legal text in French occupies the majority of the face, setting out the restricted validity of the currency and the penal consequences of counterfeiting. The overall layout is typographic with no pictorial vignette. |
| Reverse lettering | Cette monnaie n'est valable qu'à l'intérieur des Dépôts, Camps et Chantiers des Prisonniers de Guerre. Elle ne peut être échangée contre la monnaie légale que par les Caisses des Dépôts de Prisonniers et au profit des personnes dûment accréditées par le Commandant de dépôts. 50 L'article 139 du Code Pénal punit des Travaux Forcés ceux qui auront contrefait ou falsifié les billets de Banques autorisées par la loi, ainsi que ceux qui auront fait usage de ces billets contrefait ou falsifiés. (Translation: This currency is only valid inside the Depots, Camps and Work Sites of Prisoners of War. It can only be exchanged for legal currency by the Prisoner Depot Cash Offices and for the benefit of persons duly accredited by the Depot Commanders. Article 139 of the Penal Code punishes with forced labor those who have counterfeited or falsified bank notes authorized by law, as well as those who have made use of these counterfeited or falsified notes.) |
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| Comments |
France's Ministère de la Guerre issued this scrip exclusively for use by German and Italian prisoners of war held on French soil after 1945 — a distinct monetary system designed to keep POW purchasing power completely isolated from the recovering French civilian economy. Prisoners could earn wages through labor assignments and spend the scrip at camp canteens, but it was unredeemable outside that controlled circuit.
The series ran until France's last POW camps closed in 1947. Survivors are disproportionately uncirculated simply because scrip confiscated at departure was typically destroyed, while notes that left camp illegally — tucked into letters or clothing — are the ones that made it out.