25 Livres Assignat

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.