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50 Centimes Blue
| Issuer | Chambre de Commerce d'Alger |
|---|---|
| Year | 1915 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 Centimes (0.50) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Printed overall in blue on cream paper within an oval guilloche border. The coat of arms of Algiers appears at left, and a circular vignette of the Chamber of Commerce seal — bearing a caduceus flanked by palm trees — is at right. The denomination '50 CENTIMES' is set in large letterpress type at centre, with the Arabic equivalent below, flanked by two manuscript facsimile signatures above the series and serial number line at foot. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | 50 CENTIMES 50 عشرة سوردى ÉCHANGEABLE CONTRE DES BILLETS DE LA BANQUE DE L'ALGÉRIE |
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| Comments |
The Chambre de Commerce d'Alger issued these small-denomination emergency notes in 1915 because the outbreak of war had caused an acute shortage of fractional coin — hoarding and metal requisitions for the war effort stripped North African markets of small change almost immediately after mobilization. Local chambers of commerce across French Algeria stepped in where the Banque de l'Algérie would not, producing their own papier-monnaie de nécessité.
Imprimerie Adolphe Jourdan was one of the most prolific printers in colonial North Africa, handling everything from official administrative documents to scholarly publications on Algerian history. The firm closed in 1916, the year after this note was produced.