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5 Francs

Issuer City of Ghent (Stad Gent / Ville de Gand)
Year 1914
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Value 5 Francs
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Obverse description Dutch-language face printed in dark blue-grey on a salmon-pink guilloche underprint repeating the text 'STADSBON VAN VIJF FRANK'. The heading 'STAD GENT' is set at the top centre, with the denomination 'VIJF FRANK' in bold white letters on a dark cartouche flanked by ornate acanthus scrollwork; the numeral '5' appears in large format at both left and right margins. A red oval official municipal stamp is applied to the lower centre, and three manuscript signatures of the municipal officers appear at the foot. The note is framed by a finely engraved border with rosette medallions at each corner.
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Reverse lettering VILLE DE GAND À partir du 1er Janvier 1916, il sera payé à vue au porteur la somme de CINQ FRANCS La Ville de Gand, en exécution d'une délibération du Conseil communal du 9 Novembre 1914, garantit le paiement du présent billet à partir du 1er Janvier 1916. Le Secrétaire communal Le Bourgmestre L'Échevin des Finances Série T
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Comments

When the German army occupied Belgium in August 1914, the national banking system effectively froze. Municipal authorities across the country began issuing their own emergency scrip — "noodgeld" — to keep local commerce moving. Ghent's issue was among the earliest, authorized within weeks of the occupation. J. Verschueren, a commercial printer with offices in both Antwerp and Brussels, handled production for several of these civic emissions simultaneously.

The 5 Franc denomination was the workhorse of daily transactions. Ghent's notes from this series are prone to horizontal fold wear along the center crease, a known weakness in Verschueren's lighter-weight stock.

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