Coupure Publique Deposited
This word, meaning a " cut- ting," was originally applied to the French twenty franc paper notes. It is now, however, identified with bank notes of smaller denomination, and beginning in 1914 necessity paper money called cou- pures ranging as low as a few centimes, were issued in many of the French cities.
- Frey's Dictionary (American Journal of Numismatics, Vol. 50, 1916)