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20 Livres
| Issuer | Caisse Patriotique de Lyon |
|---|---|
| Year | 1793 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is framed by a geometric border of repeating diamond and cross motifs in a typeset letterpress style. The central text, in varying typeface sizes, reads 'SIEGE DE LYON' at the top, followed by the date '1793, l'an 2 de la République Française', the designation 'SUBVENTION CIVIQUE', and the value 'Bon pour VINGT LIVRES', with an exchange clause beneath stating the note is redeemable against Assignats in lots of 400 livres. A handwritten serial number appears in the upper left, and two manuscript signatures are present in the lower portion of the note. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse shows a faint mirror impression of the obverse text visible through the thin paper, indicating the note was printed on a single side only. A central vignette of what appears to be a cannon with foliage is faintly discernible, along with a handwritten signature in the lower right area, consistent with a countersignature applied to the back of the note. |
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| Comments |
The Caisse Patriotique de Lyon was a short-lived local emergency institution, one of dozens of provincial caisses that sprang up during the assignat crisis to address chronic small-denomination shortages. This 20 Livres note dates from one of the most turbulent moments in Lyon's history: the city rose against the Jacobin-controlled Convention in May 1793 and was besieged for over two months before falling in October. Republican forces under Kellermann and Doppet reduced much of the city, and the Convention briefly renamed it "Ville-Affranchie."
Notes issued by Lyonnais institutions during this period had essentially no future — the caisse was dissolved, and most surviving paper was either destroyed or rendered worthless almost immediately after the siege ended.