Banknote Billet France 5 francs 1914

Remarks:

Multi épinglages, plis

Annulation par perforation

This 5 franc note was issued by the Chambre de Commerce de Cambrai in 1914, in the particular context of the outbreak of the First World War. When the conflict began, the shortage of metallic currency prompted many French chambers of commerce to issue their own local banknotes in order to compensate for the lack of liquidity in circulation. These emergency issues, overseen by the authorities, helped maintain commercial exchanges in the affected regions.

More specifically, this example belongs to the Third Series of issues by the Chambre de Commerce de Cambrai, which testifies to the duration and extent of the use of this type of substitute currency in this town in northern France. Cambrai, located in the Nord department, lies at the heart of an area particularly affected by the military events of the time, lending these notes a notable historical dimension.

The presented example bears the mention « Annulé » (Cancelled), an indication affixed to the note to signify that it was officially withdrawn from circulation and stripped of its legal value. This cancellation practice was common when emergency banknotes were withdrawn, once the monetary situation had returned to normal. A cancelled note generally bears this mention in the form of a perforation, a stamp, or a visible overprint on the document.

The note has a face value of 5 francs and weighs 1 gram, characteristic of the paper medium used for this type of fiduciary document. As a direct witness to the economic and monetary upheavals caused by the war, this note constitutes a document of primary importance for the study of French emergency numismatics from the early 20th century.