2020-09-11
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Assignats of The French revolution
Bill of 1793 in 10 sous – the forerunner of Russian uncut kerenok
After nationalizing the property of the Church in 1789 and putting it up for sale, the national Assembly of France declared the proceeds from the sale of Church property as a security for new money – paper assignats.
Separate decrees of December 19 and 21, 1789 established: the Emergency cash register - for issuing banknotes and the Accounting register-for their redemption.
And for those who still doubted, the National Assembly adopted a separate decree on December 12, 1790-declaring assignats as full-fledged money on a par with coins. The printing press was turned on and salaries were paid in assignats.
“domaines nationaux. Assignat de dix sous, payable au porteur” .
On a white square of thick paper, resembling cardboard, the denomination (dix sous) was printed in black paint with the wording borrowed from checks – 'bearer' (payable au porteur).
In addition, the denomination of the bill in the form of the Roman numeral X was illuminated with a watermark along with the initials R. F. – Republique Francaise: the French were just getting used to this phrase.
On the bill - very interesting inscriptions in the spirit of revolutionary rhetoric: next to the menacing warnings of severe liability for forgery (La loi punit de mort le contrefacteur), it is proposed to inform where such facts should be reported with the promise to reward the informer (La nation recompense le denonciateur).
The drawing shows 2 girls surrounded by revolutionary symbols and the slogan 'Freedom And Equality' (Liberte Surete Egalite).
On both sides of the picture - 2 relief round seals. The bill is one-sided, for reasons of economy, which at the end of the XVIII century was the rule rather than the exception.
At all times, the issue of paper money requires accuracy in determining the size of the issue, revolutionaries did not differ in such accuracy either then or now.
Every year, non-exchangeable assignats lost the competition for purchasing power of gold and silver coins, steadily declining in relation to the full-fledged coin on the market:
January 1791 – 91 %;
January 1792 – 72 %;
January 1793 – 51 %;
January 1794 – 40 %;
January 1795 – 18 %;
February 1796-0.29 %.
Assignats were not helped by the revolutionary strict legislation, namely:
August 3, 1793-Decree on criminal liability for refusing to accept assignats (first time-a fine of 3,000 livres and arrest for 6 months, the second time-a fine of 6,000 livres and 20 years in prison).
(Taking into account the ratio of 1 livre = 20 sous, the fine was equal to 120,000 pieces of those squares that are in the photo below).
As a result, the leadership of the Republic decided that it was time to stop the printing press, which was done in a revolutionary style: on February 19, 1796, the place Vendome in Paris was publicly destroyed – burned! - equipment for printing Bank notes.
Assignats were in circulation from 1789 to 1797.
Assignats in 10 sous serie 591 never got into circulation: uncut - and therefore perfectly preserved! - they moved my collection.
Ассигнаты Великой Французской революции
10 су 1793 г.
Country
:
Франция
Denomination
:
10 су
Year
:
1793
Quantity
:
Issuer
:
Series
:
Valid from
:
Valid till
:
Cancelled
:
Alexander R.
