50 Centimes

The Chambre de Commerce de Djibouti issued emergency fractional notes during and immediately after World War One to address the acute shortage of small coinage — a problem endemic to remote colonial outposts where metal currency drained away faster than it could be replenished. These chamber of commerce issues were a common colonial stopgap, carrying no guarantee from a central bank.

Printing by Imprimerie Alexis Desvages in Addis Ababa is a genuine curiosity — a French Somaliland commercial note produced inland in Ethiopia, at a press better known for administrative and ecclesiastical work serving the Ethiopian imperial government.