Banknote Billet France 50 centimes 1920

Remarks:

1 épinglage et plis

Filigrane: abeille

This 50 centimes banknote was issued in 1920 by the Chambre de Commerce de Bordeaux (Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce), in the context of the shortage of small change that affected France during and after the First World War. Faced with the insufficient number of coins in circulation, many French chambers of commerce were authorised to issue their own emergency notes to make up for this shortfall, and Bordeaux was one of them.

This type of note belongs to the category of local emergency issues, also known as regional paper currencies, which played an important economic role in everyday local trade. The Chambre de Commerce de Bordeaux produced several denominations and series in order to meet the needs of the Gironde population.

The note presented here belongs to series 66, which allows it to be identified and distinguished within the overall production of this issue. The series numbering is an essential element for collectors, as it makes it possible to establish the relative rarity of certain series compared to others.

These chamber of commerce notes are today highly sought-after collectibles among enthusiasts of notaphily, the branch of numismatics dedicated to banknotes and paper money. They bear witness to a particular economic period in French history, when local authorities had to compensate for the national monetary shortage.

The notes of the Chambre de Commerce de Bordeaux are referenced in specialised French catalogues, particularly those dedicated to emergency issues, which facilitates their identification and precise grading according to their condition.