Banknote Billet France 1 franc 1916

This 50 centimes note was issued by the Grenoble Chamber of Commerce on 14 September 1916, in the midst of the First World War. It belongs to the category of emergency currency, issued locally to compensate for the shortage of small metal coinage that affected France during the conflict. Chambers of Commerce in many French cities were authorised to issue their own low-denomination notes in order to meet the daily needs of commercial transactions.

This note is associated with the department of Isère, of which Grenoble is the prefecture. The issuance of such local notes was common practice between approximately 1914 and 1922, and examples bearing the annotation "Annulé" (Cancelled), as is the case here, correspond to notes that were officially withdrawn from circulation and invalidated by the issuing authority. This cancellation marking, generally applied by perforation, stamp or overprint, was intended to prevent any fraudulent reuse of the note after it had been taken out of circulation.

The face value of 50 centimes represents one of the most commonly issued denominations by French Chambers of Commerce during this period of monetary shortage. These emergency notes are today important historical and documentary records of the local wartime economy, reflecting the monetary adaptations of a particularly troubled era.

Notes issued by Chambers of Commerce generally feature typographic characteristics specific to each issuing city, with explicit mention of the issuing authority, the nominal value, and the precise date of issue, all of which are present on this Grenoble example.