50 kilos acier ordinaire

The O.C.R.P.I. was established under Vichy in 1941 to administer the rationing and allocation of industrial raw materials under German occupation requirements. This bon — a materials entitlement voucher rather than currency in any banking sense — authorized the bearer to claim 50 kilograms of ordinary steel (acier ordinaire) from designated distribution points. The Fontes, Fers et Aciers section handled ferrous metals specifically, the most strategically contested category given German requisitioning demands on French industrial output.

Guilloche printing and a watermark on what is essentially an administrative chit reflects how seriously the regime treated unauthorized duplication — black market steel was a significant problem throughout the occupation and into the postwar reconstruction period, when the O.C.R.P.I. continued operating until the early 1950s.