0,05 Franc

Madagascar's 0,05 franc bon de caisse was part of an emergency fractional currency series introduced during World War One, when the global coin shortage hit French colonial territories hard. Metropolitan France was hoarding its own small change, and the colonies were left to improvise. These low-denomination bons de caisse were essentially IOUs issued by the colonial government to keep commerce moving at the market level.

The 1916 Madagascar fractional issues are notoriously fragile — thin stock, heavy everyday handling, and a tropical climate combined to destroy most of them. Survivors in any presentable state are genuinely uncommon.