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15 Sols Assignat
| Issuer | République Française (French Revolutionary Government) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1792 |
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| Designer(s) | Nicolas-Marie Gatteaux |
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| Obverse description | The face is set within a decorative letterpress border with floral and foliate ornaments running along all four sides, with the denomination XV repeated vertically in the side panels. The central text field carries the issuing authority 'Domaines nationaux' above the assignat legend 'de quinze sols, payable au porteur' in bold letterpress script, surmounted by the date law and Republican era inscriptions in the upper corners. At the foot of the note, a vignette engraved after Gatteaux presents two allegorical female figures flanking a central roundel bearing the denomination '15s', holding tablets inscribed 'Droit de l'Homme' and 'Faits Historiques', with the warning legends against counterfeiting and informer reward texts occupying the lower border panels. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | LOI DU 24 OCTOBRE 1792. QUINZE SOLS. LA NATION LA LOI LE ROI L'AN 1er DE LA RÉPUBLIQUE. Domaines nationaux. Assignat de quinze sols, payable au porteur. GERARD FECIT DROIT DE L'HOMME. FAITS HISTO 15s GATTEAUX Série LA LOI PUNIT DE MORT LE CONTREFACTEUR. LA NATION RÉCOMPENSE LE DÉNONCIATEUR. QUINZE SOUS XV |
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| Comments |
The 15 sols assignat was issued by decree in April 1792 to address an acute shortage of small-denomination currency — the larger assignats circulated readily enough, but petty commerce had ground nearly to a halt for want of change. Gatteaux, a medallist and engraver at the Monnaie de Paris, brought a precision to the design that was somewhat wasted on a denomination the public immediately began counterfeiting with enthusiasm.
Over twelve million notes were printed, yet the series was short-lived. By early 1793 the assignat system was already collapsing under inflationary pressure, and the small sols denominations were among the first to lose practical value in trade.