Banknote France 1 Franc - Cities of Girey-Blamont, Xures - 17-07-1916

Remarks:

plis, salissures, coupures

This emergency note with a face value of 1 franc was issued on 17 July 1916 by the Syndicat des Communes des Sous-Comités de Girey-Blamont et Xures, in France, in the midst of the First World War.

Emergency notes of this nature were issued locally in response to the shortage of metallic currency that affected France during the conflict. Faced with the massive hoarding of silver and copper coins, municipalities, syndicates and chambers of commerce were forced to compensate for this shortage by producing their own local payment instruments. Although temporary, these issues played an essential role in maintaining commercial exchanges within the affected territories.

The Syndicat des Communes des Sous-Comités de Girey-Blamont et Xures represents a grouping of municipalities located in the department of Meurthe-et-Moselle, a region particularly affected by its proximity to the front during the Great War. The issuance of this note bears witness to the local organisation put in place to cope with the economic difficulties caused by the conflict.

As an emergency banknote, this paper document bears the mention of its face value of 1 franc as well as the precise date of its issue, 17 July 1916. It belongs to a category of collectibles particularly sought after by numismatists specialising in French paper money from the First World War, especially regarding the local and regional issues of that period. These notes now constitute direct historical testimonies of the economic and social conditions endured by the French civilian population during those years of war.