Banknote Billet France 1 franc 1921

Remarks:

1 épinglages et plis de comptage

Date: 17-11-1921

This banknote with a face value of 1 franc was issued in 1921 by the Chambre de Commerce de Moulins et Lapalisse, an economic institution representing the commercial and industrial interests of the Allier region, in the eponymous department located in Auvergne. It belongs to Series 3 of this issue.

This type of banknote is part of the context of emergency monetary issues that developed in France during and after the First World War. Faced with a shortage of metallic currency, many French chambers of commerce were authorised to issue their own banknotes and substitute currencies to offset the lack of cash in circulation. These local issues represented a pragmatic response to the economic disruptions of the time.

The Chambre de Commerce de Moulins et Lapalisse thus produced these notes intended to circulate within the local territory, particularly in the districts of Moulins and Lapalisse. These chamber of commerce notes, often referred to as emergency notes or provincial paper money, generally feature graphic characteristics specific to their issuing institution, with explicit mention of the face value, year of issue and series number.

The mention of Series 3 indicates that this is a distinct issue within the overall production of this banknote, thereby allowing better administrative and accounting management of the notes put into circulation. These different series also helped to combat potential counterfeiting and facilitated control of the quantities issued by the institution.

These chamber of commerce banknotes are today precious historical and numismatic testimonies, reflecting the economic difficulties experienced by France in the post-war period and the local solutions implemented to address them.