5 Francs Mandat Territorial

The Mandat Territorial was France's second attempt at forced-currency paper money, introduced in March 1796 to replace the catastrophically inflated Assignat. The scheme collapsed almost immediately — within weeks of issue, mandats were trading at a fraction of face value, and by February 1797 the entire instrument was officially demonetized. The 5 Francs denomination saw the shortest window of any meaningful circulation.

Unlike the Assignats, which were backed by nationalized church and émigré properties, mandats were theoretically exchangeable for specific parcels of biens nationaux at fixed prices. In practice, landowners refused them and the public ignored them.

The watermark, common to the series, did nothing to arrest counterfeiting during the note's brief and chaotic life.