250 Francs - type 1808 branches

The type 1808 series was among the earliest standardized large-denomination issues from the Banque de France following Napoleon's reorganization of the bank under imperial charter in 1806. By this point the institution held monopoly rights over note issue in Paris, but public confidence in paper remained fragile — memories of the assignat collapse of the 1790s had not faded, and high-denomination notes like this 250 Francs circulated almost exclusively among merchants and banking houses rather than in everyday trade.

Fay A07 survivors are genuinely rare. The Banque de France systematically destroyed returned notes throughout this period, and the narrow two-year issue window limits the number that could have escaped cancellation.