Banknote France 2 Francs - Sedan Region - December 1917 - Serial D

Remarks:

épinglages, plis, salissures, coupures

This 2 franc note represents a major historical testimony from the period of the First World War. It is an emergency currency note issued by the Syndicat ardennais de ravitaillement (Ardennes Supply Syndicate), in the region of Sedan, in December 1917, belonging to series D.

During the German occupation of the Ardennes between 1914 and 1918, traditional economic networks were profoundly disrupted. The shortage of official fiduciary currency forced local authorities and supply organisations to issue substitute notes in order to ensure the continuity of commercial exchanges within the occupied territories. The Syndicat ardennais de ravitaillement, a structured organisation responsible for managing the supply of civilian populations under occupation, was one of these local issuers that took on this emergency monetary function.

This note has a face value of 2 francs, the French monetary unit in use at the time. Its issue in December 1917 takes place in a context of total war, as the Sedan region had been subjected to the severe constraints of the German military administration for more than three years.

From a typological standpoint, this document belongs to the vast category of French emergency currencies of the Great War, which encompasses all local, regional or corporate issues intended to offset the lack of liquidity. These paper notes, often issued in several denominations and series, now constitute a valuable documentary source for the economic and social history of French regions occupied during the First World War.

Series D indicates that this issue is part of an organised and structured production, reflecting the rigorous management of volumes put into circulation by the Syndicat ardennais de ravitaillement in order to meet the growing needs of the Ardennes civilian populations.