Banknote Billet France 1 franc 1916

Remarks:

Plis et salissures

Filigrane: Abeilles

This 1 franc note was issued by the Chambre de Commerce du Puy, located in Haute-Loire, on October 10, 1916, and belongs to series D. It is part of the particular context of the First World War, a period during which many French chambers of commerce were authorised to issue emergency notes in order to offset the shortage of metallic and fiduciary currency in circulation.

These local issues, known as emergency currency or cash vouchers, represented a pragmatic response to the economic disruptions caused by the conflict. The Chambre de Commerce du Puy-en-Velay was among the many institutions authorised to produce these temporary payment instruments, which circulated primarily at the local and regional level.

The note has a face value of 1 franc and clearly displays the issue date of October 10, 1916, as well as the reference to series D, making it possible to precisely identify the issue batch to which it belongs. This classification into series was common for emergency issues, facilitating the tracking and management of notes put into circulation by the issuing authorities.

From a numismatic perspective, these chamber of commerce notes from the 1914-1918 period are today direct historical testimonies of local economic organisation in wartime. They are recorded and studied in specialist catalogues of French paper currency, particularly for their series variants and different issue dates, which determine their rarity and interest for collectors.