Banknote Billet Algérie - Administration française 1 franc 1917

Remarks:

Plis, salissures et tâches

This banknote with a face value of 1 franc was issued by the Chambre de Commerce de Bône, in Algeria, under French administration. It bears the date of 10 July 1917 and belongs to series D.

The Algerian Chambers of Commerce were led to issue this type of emergency currency during World War I, a period during which the shortage of metallic coinage, linked in particular to hoarding and the growing need for metals for the war effort, made commercial exchanges difficult. These local issues thus helped to offset the lack of currency in circulation.

The city of Bône, today known as Annaba, was at that time an important economic centre in north-eastern Algeria, with an active port and significant commercial and industrial activity. The Chamber of Commerce of this city therefore had the authority and legitimacy required to issue this type of emergency paper money for local use.

This banknote is part of a wide series of similar issues produced by various chambers of commerce across Algeria and metropolitan France during the conflict. These documents now constitute valuable historical testimonies of local economic organisation in times of crisis, and represent a collecting field in their own right within notaphily, the discipline dedicated to the study and collection of banknotes and paper currencies.

Belonging to an identified series, here series D, indicates that several series of this same banknote were put into circulation, reflecting a substantial volume of issuance to meet local economic needs.