Banknote France 2 Francs - City of Liévin - 31-01-1915 - Serial C

Remarks:

épinglages, plis, salissures, coupures

This 2-franc communal bond was issued by the town of Liévin on 31 January 1915, in the midst of the First World War. It belongs to series C and represents a significant historical testimony of the emergency currency issued locally during this conflict.

During the Great War, many French municipalities, faced with a shortage of official fiduciary currency, were forced to issue their own communal bonds in order to overcome the economic difficulties caused by the conflict. Liévin, a mining town in the Pas-de-Calais department located in the war zone, thus proceeded to issue these local payment instruments intended to facilitate commercial exchanges within the community.

This bond, denominated in francs, bears a face value of 2 francs and is precisely dated 31 January 1915, placing it within the first months following the outbreak of hostilities on French soil. The mention of series C indicates that this was an issue organised in several distinct series, a common practice for these types of documents in order to facilitate their management and control by the municipal authorities.

These communal bonds, issued by French municipalities between 1914 and 1918, now represent a particularly sought-after category among collectors specialising in emergency currency and war notes. They constitute rare documents as their period of circulation was limited, and their preservation in good condition is often difficult given the conditions in which they were used. This bond from the town of Liévin, issued in 1915, represents a numismatic and historical document of certain documentary value for understanding the local economy in times of war.