Bône's Chambre de Commerce began issuing emergency fractional notes in 1915 because the wartime hoarding of coins — silver especially — had made small-denomination transactions nearly impossible across French Algeria. The franc and centime coins simply vanished from circulation, absorbed by anxious households and by the military supply chain, leaving local commerce to improvise.
Moullot fils aîné in Marseille handled printing for several Algerian chambres during this period, a logical arrangement given the disrupted shipping and administrative ties across the Mediterranean. The JP reference spans multiple varieties within the series, reflecting successive date changes and minor typographic revisions across the five-year issue window.
Bône's Chambre de Commerce began issuing emergency fractional notes in 1915 because the wartime hoarding of coins — silver especially — had made small-denomination transactions nearly impossible across French Algeria. The franc and centime coins simply vanished from circulation, absorbed by anxious households and by the military supply chain, leaving local commerce to improvise.
Moullot fils aîné in Marseille handled printing for several Algerian chambres during this period, a logical arrangement given the disrupted shipping and administrative ties across the Mediterranean. The JP reference spans multiple varieties within the series, reflecting successive date changes and minor typographic revisions across the five-year issue window.