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250 Livres Assignat
| Issuer | République Française (French Revolutionary Government) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1793 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Liberté 250₶. LA LOI PUNIT DE MORT LE CONTREFACTEUR RÉPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE. Assignat de deux cent cinquante L. De la Création du 7 Vendémiaire l'An deux de la République Française, Hypothèque sur les Domaines Nationaux. Série 6830 Numéro 231 LA NATION RÉCOMPENSE LE DÉNONCIATEUR 250₶. Égalité UNITÉ INDIVISIBILITÉ |
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| Protection description | Ormed within a rectangle open at the top and bottom, composed of intertwined circles, incorporating three thick lines highlighting text, a circular reserve marking the position of the dry stamp, and three light dots arranged in a triangular pattern; a blind embossed dry stamp is applied to the central field of the note. |
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| Comments |
The 250 livres denomination placed this assignat firmly in the upper register of Revolutionary paper currency — large enough to be useful for significant commercial transactions, consequential enough to be a preferred target for the counterfeiters who flooded France from 1792 onward. British-backed forgery operations were extensive and deliberate, designed to destabilize the Revolutionary economy, and notes of this class drew particular attention.
Gatteaux was among the most accomplished die engravers working in Paris at the time, and his involvement reflects the genuine effort the Comité des finances made to produce notes difficult to replicate. The dry stamp and watermark were layered security measures — neither sufficient on its own given the scale of the forgery problem.
By late 1793, assignat inflation was accelerating sharply toward the collapse that would arrive in 1796.