Banknote France 25 Centimes - City of Roubaix and Tourcoing - Serial AB22

Remarks:

épinglages, plis, salissures, coupures, déchirures, trou central, coins arrondis

This 25 centimes note issued by the cities of Roubaix and Tourcoing is a communal voucher that was put into circulation during World War I. This issue was part of the context of monetary shortage characteristic of this period of conflict, during which many French municipalities were forced to produce their own local means of payment in order to compensate for the lack of official fiduciary currency in circulation.

The cities of Roubaix and Tourcoing, located in the Nord department, were under German occupation at the time, which made the economic situation particularly critical and justified the use of these local emergency issues. This communal voucher belongs to series AB22, a classification reference that allows this type of issue to be precisely identified among the many series produced jointly by these two municipalities.

From a typological point of view, this document falls under the category of necessity currency, a sub-category of communal vouchers, which today represent a significant part of the numismatic and historical heritage of early 20th-century France. These issues directly bear witness to the economic and social upheavals caused by the First World War in the occupied territories of northern France.

The face value of 25 centimes corresponds to a common denomination in these local issues, intended to facilitate everyday commercial transactions. The vouchers issued jointly by Roubaix and Tourcoing are particularly representative of the inter-municipal cooperation put in place to manage the economic difficulties related to the occupation. These local paper currency notes are now sought after by collectors specialising in war numismatics and French necessity issues.