Banknote Billet France 50 cent 1917

The 50 Centimes Note of the City of Bolbec, issued in 1916 by the Caisse Communale de Change (Municipal Exchange Office), is a local emergency banknote that circulated during the First World War. This period of conflict caused a significant shortage of metallic currency in France, forcing many municipalities, chambers of commerce and private establishments to issue their own means of payment in order to compensate for the lack of currency in circulation.

Bolbec, a town located in Seine-Maritime, in Normandy, thus established this municipal exchange office to meet local economic needs. These emergency notes, although officially recognised at the municipal level, were only legal tender within their area of issue, that is, primarily within the town and its immediate surroundings.

This note has a face value of 50 centimes, making it a common supplementary instrument for everyday transactions. Municipal notes of this era were generally printed on paper, with explicit references to the issuing authority, the nominal value and the year of issue, in order to guarantee their authenticity and traceability among local merchants and residents.

This type of emergency currency today constitutes a valuable historical testimony to local economic management in times of crisis. Municipal issues from the First World War are particularly sought after by collectors specialising in emergency currencies and French regional banknotes. The example from the town of Bolbec represents a documentary piece illustrating the economic and administrative adaptations of a Norman municipality in the face of the constraints imposed by the wartime context. Its weight is one gram, which is characteristic of paper notes of this format issued during this period.