Billet France 1 franc 1915-1920 XF

This 1 franc note was issued by the Ville de Mayenne (City of Mayenne) under the Service des Émigrés, a structure established to meet the specific monetary needs of displaced populations during the period from 1915 to 1920. It is part of the context of emergency currency issues that proliferated in France during and after the First World War, in response to the shortage of metallic currency and the growing demand for small change.

This type of local issue demonstrates the ability of municipal authorities and local organisations to offset the dysfunctions of the national monetary system in times of crisis. The Ville de Mayenne, the main town of its arrondissement located in the Mayenne department, thus resorted to creating this limited-use means of payment, intended to circulate within a defined geographical and administrative perimeter.

This note bears serial number 164, which allows it to be precisely identified within the issue series and constitutes an important element for collectors specialising in French emergency currency. These numberings are essential for establishing the relative rarity of a specimen within the same issue.

Emergency banknotes from this era are generally produced on paper and feature typographic and graphic characteristics specific to their place of issue, reflecting the means available at the time of their manufacture. Today they constitute precious historical and numismatic documents, illustrating the local economic adaptations to the constraints imposed by the wartime and immediate post-war context in France.

 

 

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