Banknote Billet France 1 franc 1917

Remarks:

Lettre B dans un cercle noir

This 50 centimes note was issued by the Chambre de Commerce de Cognac on 24 May 1917, in the midst of the First World War. During this conflict, the shortage of metallic coinage in circulation prompted many French chambers of commerce to issue emergency notes in small denominations, intended to compensate for the lack of divisional currency. These local issues now constitute a fully recognised numismatic category, bearing witness to the economic adaptations imposed by the wartime context.

The presented example bears the mention « Annulé » (Cancelled), indicating that it was officially withdrawn from circulation and invalidated by the issuing authority. This cancellation was generally achieved through a perforation, a stamp, an overprint or a cut applied to the note, in order to prevent it from being put back into circulation. Cancelled notes represent an interesting documentary variant in the history of emergency issues, allowing the administrative practices of the chambers of commerce of the time to be traced.

The Chambre de Commerce de Cognac, a city renowned for its brandy industry in the Charente region, was among the many local institutions that resorted to this type of fiduciary issue during the war. These notes circulated exclusively within the geographical area under the jurisdiction of the issuing chamber and held legal tender status limited to that territory.

This note belongs to the category of French First World War emergency currency, a collecting field well documented by specialised catalogues such as the Pirot directory. The issue year 1917 corresponds to a particularly tense period economically, marked by strong demand for divisional currency.