Banknote Billet France 1 franc 1917

This 1 franc banknote was issued in 1917 by the Annecy Chamber of Commerce, as part of the production of emergency currency characteristic of the First World War period. Faced with a shortage of metallic coinage, many French chambers of commerce were authorised to issue their own local banknotes in order to compensate for the lack of currency in circulation.

This banknote belongs to the second series, bearing series number 207. This classification into series allowed the authorities to organise and control the various successive issues made by the chamber of commerce, according to the local economic needs of the time.

The Annecy Chamber of Commerce, an institution representative of the economic fabric of the Savoy region, thus participated in the collective effort to maintain commercial exchanges during this troubled period. The banknotes issued by the chambers of commerce of this era now constitute precious historical testimonies, reflecting the economic and monetary constraints imposed by the wartime context.

These emergency issues, although temporary, circulated widely in their regions of origin and played an essential role in the functioning of local markets. The banknote is denominated in francs, the official monetary unit of France at that time. Its year of issue, 1917, places it in the most critical period of the world conflict, during which the production of state fiduciary currency was severely disrupted.