Banknote Billet France 25 centimes 1914

Remarks:

1 Pli de comptage

This 50 centimes note was issued by the City of Épernay on 5 September 1914, just a few weeks after the outbreak of the First World War. It is rooted in the monetary crisis that struck France as early as the summer of 1914, when general mobilisation and widespread hoarding caused an acute shortage of small change. Faced with this situation, numerous municipalities, chambers of commerce and private institutions were compelled to issue their own emergency notes to offset the lack of currency in circulation.

Épernay, a city in the Marne department located at the heart of the Champagne region, was moreover situated in a zone particularly exposed during the first weeks of the conflict, as the Battle of the Marne took place precisely at the beginning of September 1914. The issuance of this note therefore occurred within an exceptional historical context, lending it notable documentary value beyond its original monetary function.

This is an emergency note (billet de nécessité), a category of paper money issued locally on a provisional basis, intended to facilitate everyday commercial transactions within the issuing municipality. The face value printed is 50 centimes, although the data indicates a nominal value of 25 centimes, which may correspond to a variant or a distinction between the printed value and the catalogued value.

This type of French wartime note now stands as a direct witness to the economic and social history of France during the Great War. Emergency notes issued in 1914 by towns in the Marne are particularly sought after by collectors specialising in notaphily, owing to their age, their singular historical context and their often limited print runs. The condition of this note largely determines its value on today's numismatic market.