Banknote Billet France 1 franc 1916

Remarks:

Délibération: 12-05-1916

Spécimen: 3 perforations

This banknote with a face value of 1 franc was issued in 1916 by the Chambre de Commerce de Moulins et Lapalisse, in the Allier department, France. It was issued in the context of the First World War, a period during which many French chambers of commerce were authorised to issue emergency notes in order to address the shortage of metallic currency resulting from hoarding and the growing demands of the war economy.

The presented example holds the particular status of a specimen, meaning it was produced for reference or presentation purposes and was not intended for general circulation. Specimens are generally collectible items of notable documentary and historical interest, having been produced in very limited quantities.

This note belongs to the M1?? series, with the full series numbering remaining partially undetermined, as indicated by the question marks in the designation. This particularity results from the location of the perforations.

Emergency notes issued by French chambers of commerce during the First World War represent a numismatic category in their own right, grouped under the designation of necessity currency or emergency currency. Those issued by the Chambre de Commerce de Moulins et Lapalisse cover the territory of the Allier and bear witness to the local economic organisation put in place to maintain commercial exchanges during this period of crisis.

This note is referenced as a French banknote with a face value of 1 franc, issued in 1916, and belongs to the category of regional wartime issues, thus constituting a direct testimony to the economic and monetary history of France during the First World War.