French Revolution, Assignat Note

These genuine assignat notes, worth 10 sols, were issued during the French Revolution from 1792 to 1793.

While originally meant to be used as bonds, assignat notes were made legal tender currency by France's Constituent Assembly in 1790 to avoid the government going into bankruptcy. The notes were backed by France's national land, which could be purchased from the government using these notes.

While effective in helping France pay its debts, issuing assignats had the side effect of causing severe inflation. Rising prices and food shortages caused the government to issue the Maximum Price Act in 1793, but this only caused food to become more scarce. By June 1794 over 8 billion assignat notes had been issued, and assignats became effectively worthless when the Maximum Price Act was revoked two months later.

This assignat note was worth 10 sols or 1/2 livre in France's livre tournois currency system used from 781 to 1795 (over 1,000 years!). Each note is dated in the top left corner and features two watermarked seals.

The banknote comes with a rigid archival document holder for preservation and handling. A Certificate of Authenticity is also included.