Banknote Billet France 25 centimes 1916

This 25 centimes note was issued in 1916 by the Chambre de Commerce de La Roche-sur-Yon et de la Vendée, as part of the local and regional monetary issues that multiplied throughout France during the First World War. Faced with a shortage of small metallic coinage, many French chambers of commerce were authorised to issue emergency notes to compensate for the lack of currency in circulation.

This note belongs to Series B, which indicates the existence of several series of issue for this same face value, reflecting a production in several successive print runs in order to meet the growing needs of the local Vendée economy. The Chambre de Commerce de La Roche-sur-Yon, the representative institution of trade and industry in the department, thus temporarily assumed the role of issuing authority within its territory.

These regional emergency notes are today direct witnesses to the economic upheavals brought about by the global conflict of 1914-1918. The 1916 issue belongs to a particularly tense period, when demand for small change for everyday transactions was high, while metallic materials were largely requisitioned for military purposes.

This emergency note represents a significant documentary piece for the monetary and economic history of Vendée, and more broadly of France in wartime. Its face value of 25 centimes made it a payment instrument intended for everyday and local exchanges, circulating primarily within the department. Its weight is 1 gram, a typical characteristic of the small-format notes issued by French chambers of commerce of this era.