Banknote Billet France 1 franc 1916

Remarks:

Pliure, salissure

This necessity note with a face value of 1 franc was issued by the Chambre de Commerce d'Évreux during the period of the European War 1914-1915-1916. It is part of the particular context of the First World War, during which the shortage of metallic currency led many French chambers of commerce to issue their own payment instruments in order to compensate for the lack of small change in circulation.

These necessity notes, also known as war currency or local paper money, provided a temporary and practical solution to ensure the continuity of commercial exchanges at a regional level. The Chambre de Commerce d'Évreux, located in the Eure department in Normandy, was among the many institutions authorised to issue this type of locally circulating paper money.

The year of issue indicated is 1916, although the mention on the note refers to the entire period 1914-1915-1916, thus covering the first three years of the conflict. This type of fiduciary document is of notable historical and numismatic interest, bearing witness to the economic adaptations imposed by the war on French territory.

From a numismatic classification standpoint, this note belongs to the category of French necessity issues of the First World War, a well-documented and actively collected field. These paper pieces now constitute direct testimonies of the economic hardships experienced by France during this period, and represent a valuable documentary source for historians and collectors specialising in war numismatics or in Norman regional history.