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200 Livres Assignat
| Issuer | Caisse de l'Extraordinaire, France |
|---|---|
| Year | 1791-1792 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 200 Livres (200 LT) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | A circular engraved portrait vignette of King Louis XVI in profile occupies the upper centre of the note, set within a typeset frame. The large bold letterpress legend 'DOMAINES NATIONAUX' spans the upper field, with subsidiary text referencing the decrees of the Assemblée Nationale below. Two black lozenge-shaped panels at the lower left and right carry the denomination in letterpress, reading 'Deux Cents' and '200' respectively, with the footer 'DEUX CENTS LIVRES' along the bottom margin. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse shows a blind impression of the obverse design as a result of the letterpress printing process, with the text and vignette of the face visible in mirror image through the thin paper stock. No independent design elements or lettering are present on this side. |
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| Comments |
The 200 livres denomination sits at an awkward moment in the assignat's short history. Authorized by the law of 19 June 1791, it fell between the large ecclesiastical-property-backed issues of 1790 and the inflationary flood of smaller denominations that followed. The Caisse de l'Extraordinaire — a short-lived institution created specifically to administer confiscated biens nationaux — issued these notes as the revolutionary government scrambled to convert seized Church land into liquid currency fast enough to service its debts.
Gatteaux and Lorthior were responsible for the engraving, and the technical complexity of their work was deliberately chosen as a counterfeiting deterrent. It failed. Forgery of assignats, particularly the higher denominations, was rampant by 1792 — some operations running with royalist backing from abroad.