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100 Livres Assignat
| Issuer | Assemblée Nationale (France) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1790-1791 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| 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 GATTEAUX LA LOI ET LE ROI CENT LIVRES |
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| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Watermark |
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| Comments |
The 100 Livres assignat of 1790–91 belongs to the earliest phase of assignat issue, when the instrument was still technically a bond — interest-bearing, backed by confiscated Church property (the biens nationaux), and not yet the inflationary paper currency it would become. The transition from bond to banknote happened faster than the Assemblée intended. Within two years, over-issuance had gutted its value, and by 1796 the assignat system had collapsed entirely.
Gatteaux handled the die engraving while Lorthior contributed to the broader plate work — both were accomplished craftsmen working under considerable political pressure to produce something resistant to counterfeiting. The watermark was the primary security measure, relatively sophisticated for the period. Counterfeiting was nonetheless rampant, and the royalist presses in particular flooded France with fakes as a deliberate act of economic warfare.