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100 Livres
| Issuer | Domaines Nationaux |
|---|---|
| Year | 1791 |
| Type | Pattern or trial banknote |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is typeset in letterpress with a bold heading DOMAINES NATIONAUX across the upper portion, below which a central circular vignette bears a portrait bust of Louis XVI in profile. The denomination ASSIGNAT DE CENT liv. is rendered in large display type, with a text body stating the note is payable to the bearer at the Caisse de l'Extraordinaire, referencing the decrees of 16 and 17 April and 29 September 1790, and 19 June 1791. Two ornamental tablet vignettes at the lower corners carry the inscriptions Cent and 100, flanking a manuscript signature at the lower right. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | ASSIGNAT DE LA CRÉATION DU 19 JUIN 1791 DOMAINES NATIONAUX Hypothéqués au remboursement des assignats par le décret de l'Assemblée Nationale des 16 et 17 Avril 1790, sanctionné par le Roi. ASSIGNAT DE CENT liv. Il sera payé au Porteur la somme de cent livres à la Caisse de l'Extraordinaire, conformément aux décrets des 16 et 17 Avril, 29 Septembre 1790, et 19 Juin 1791. Cent 100 CENT LIVRES |
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| Comments |
The Domaines Nationaux assignats were instruments of revolutionary finance, their value theoretically backed by the confiscated lands of the Church and the Crown — biens nationaux sold off to service the Republic's debts. The 100 Livres denomination was among the most heavily circulated, and the scheme's credibility depended entirely on land sales keeping pace with note issuance. They never did.
By 1791 the printing presses were already outrunning the auctions. Counterfeiting compounded the collapse — the émigré press in Britain and the Austrian Netherlands flooded France with forgeries specifically designed to accelerate depreciation and destabilize the revolutionary government. Pick 44A predates the most acute phase of that crisis, but only just.