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50 Centimes Dakar
| Issuer | Chamber of Commerce of Dakar |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 Centimes (0.50) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Within an octagonal border, the central field depicts a steam-assisted sailing vessel underway on choppy waters, rendered in fine detail with rigging and hull clearly delineated, accompanied by seabirds in flight to the upper right. To the lower right, a large fouled anchor with chain is prominently displayed. A horizontal quayside or dock structure occupies the lower field. The legend SÉNÉGAL arcs across the upper periphery in bold raised Latin letters, while the date 1920 is inscribed in the lower field. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | SÉNÉGAL J. BORY 1920 |
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| Additional information |
The Chamber of Commerce emergency issues of French West Africa emerged from a coin shortage that had been building since the war years, when metropolitan France suspended normal specie shipments to its colonies. Dakar's chamber acted on its own authority in 1920, issuing aluminium tokens across several denominations to keep local commerce moving. The French colonial administration tolerated rather than sanctioned these pieces — a distinction that matters for their legal classification as necessité coinage rather than official currency.
Aluminium was the practical choice given postwar metal allocations, not a deliberate design decision.