Billet France 1 franc 1916 UNC

This 50 centimes note was issued by the Chambre de Commerce de Cognac on 24 May 1917, in the midst of the First World War. During this conflict, the shortage of metallic currency in circulation prompted many French chambers of commerce to issue emergency notes in small denominations, intended to compensate for the lack of divisional coinage. These local issues now constitute a numismatic category in their own right, bearing witness to the economic adaptations imposed by the wartime context.

The presented example bears the mention « Annulé » (Cancelled), indicating that it was officially withdrawn from circulation and invalidated by the issuing authority. This cancellation was generally materialised by a perforation, a stamp, an overprint or a cut applied to the note, in order to prevent any return to circulation. Cancelled notes represent an interesting documentary variant in the history of emergency issues, making it possible to trace the administrative practices of chambers of commerce of the time.

The Chambre de Commerce de Cognac, a city renowned for its brandy industry in Charente, was among the many local institutions that resorted to this type of fiduciary issue during the war. These notes circulated exclusively within the geographical area under the jurisdiction of the issuing chamber and held legal value limited to that territory.

This note belongs to the category of French emergency currencies of the First World War, a collecting field well documented by specialist catalogues such as the Pirot directory. The year of issue 1917 corresponds to a particularly tense period economically, marked by strong demand for divisional coinage.

 

 

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