Banknote Billet France 2 franc 1920

Remarks:

Spécimen: 2 perforations

This 2 francs banknote was issued by the Chambre de Commerce de Corbeil and bears the date of 16 February 1920. It is a copy designated as a Specimen, indicating that it is an official model produced for reference or presentation purposes, distinct from notes placed into ordinary circulation.

Emergency banknotes issued by French Chambers of Commerce represent a particular category of paper numismatics. They were produced in response to the shortages of fiduciary currency that characterised the period of World War I and its immediate aftermath. The Chambre de Commerce de Corbeil, a locality in Seine-et-Oise, thus temporarily exercised a local monetary issuing function in order to offset the lack of liquidity in circulation.

The Specimen notation inscribed on this note is characteristic of copies retained for reference purposes by issuing institutions, printers or supervisory authorities. These documentary pieces are generally of particular interest to collectors and researchers due to their official uncirculated status.

This note displays a face value of 2 francs, the French monetary unit in use at that time. It forms part of the local and regional issues that proliferated in France between 1914 and the 1920s, a period during which many Chambers of Commerce, municipalities and private establishments were authorised to issue their own paper or cardboard currency.