10 sous assignat de... - L'an quatrième de la Liberté

The Caisse de l'Extraordinaire was not a bank but a revolutionary accounting body established to manage the proceeds from nationalized Church and émigré properties — the assignat system was essentially a land-backed bond that devolved into currency through sheer necessity. By the time this 10 sous piece was authorized, the larger-denomination assignats had already depreciated badly enough that small change had vanished from circulation entirely, hoarded or melted. The small-format notes were a stopgap for everyday transactions the coin supply could no longer handle.

Gatteaux was a medalist by training, and his involvement reflects how the Revolution conscripted its finest craftsmen into monetary production. The watermark was the primary anti-counterfeiting measure — and it failed repeatedly, with provincial forgeries documented throughout 1792 and into Year II.