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25 Livres Assignat
| Issuer | République Française |
|---|---|
| Year | 1793 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | LOI DU 6 JUIN 1793. L'AN DEUX DE LA RÉPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE. XXV. Domaines nationaux. Assignat de vingt-cinq livres, payable au porteur. 25. Série 666. LA LOI PUNIT DE MORT LE CONTREFACTEUR. LA NATION RÉCOMPENSE LE DÉNONCIATEUR. (Translation: Law of June 6, 1793 - Year Two of the French Republic. XXV. National Domains. Assignat for twenty-five livres, payable to the bearer. 25. Series 666. The Law will punish with death the counterfeiter. The Nation will recompense the denouncer.) |
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| Protection type | Watermark |
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| Comments |
The assignat was backed — theoretically — by the nationalized lands of the Church and the émigré nobility, a monetary experiment that collapsed under the pressures of war finance and overprinting. By late 1793, the Convention had authorized successive increases in assignat circulation that bore no relationship to the underlying land values. This 25 Livres denomination was printed in enormous volumes during the Terror, contributing to the hyperinflationary spiral that by 1796 had rendered the entire currency essentially worthless.
Forgery was rampant and state-sponsored — British intelligence actively funded assignat counterfeiting operations as deliberate economic warfare against the Republic.