Banknote Billet France 1 franc 1921

The 1 Franc note of the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce, issued in 1921, is an emergency banknote belonging to Series 1. This type of local paper currency was put into circulation in France during the monetary shortage that followed the First World War, when metal coins became increasingly scarce due to hoarding and the industrial demands brought about by the conflict.

French Chambers of Commerce were authorised to issue these emergency notes in order to compensate for the lack of small change in circulation. The Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce, a representative institution of trade and industry in the Gironde region, was among the many chambers that resorted to this solution to facilitate local commercial transactions.

This note has a face value of 1 franc and is part of a broader series of denominations issued by the same institution. These chamber of commerce notes, also known as emergency vouchers or local paper money, were generally printed on paper and included details specifying the issuing body, the face value, as well as graphic elements intended to prevent counterfeiting. They also carried indications regarding their territorial validity and the conditions for their redemption.

These local issues now represent valuable historical records of France's monetary organisation during the interwar period. They are catalogued and studied by collectors specialising in notaphily, a branch of numismatics dedicated to banknotes and paper currency. The Series 1 mentioned on this note distinguishes the various successive issues made by the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce during this period.