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80 Livres Assignat
| Issuer | Caisse de l'Extraordinaire, France |
|---|---|
| Year | 1790 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 191 × 102 mm |
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| Obverse description | A circular vignette at upper centre bears a bust portrait of King Louis XVI in profile facing left, engraved in intaglio style. The large letterpress heading reads DOMAINES NATIONAUX across the upper portion of the note, with the denomination QUATRE-VINGTS LIV. stated in bold script within the central text block. Lower left carries a rectangular panel inscribed Quatre-vingt and lower right an octagonal panel with the numeral 80 flanked by fleur-de-lis, all within an ornamental border with corner devices. |
|---|---|
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| Protection description | Watermark inscribed Obligation Nationale de 80₶ 1790 La Loi et Le Roi, incorporated into the paper during manufacture |
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| Comments |
The 80 livres denomination is an oddity within the assignat series — most face values clustered around more conventional amounts, and this one was issued under the Caisse de l'Extraordinaire, the short-lived body established to manage the nationalized ecclesiastical properties that backed the early assignats. The theoretical collateral was confiscated Church land, a mechanism that worked credibly only in the first months before overissuance began eroding public confidence.
Gatteaux was a medallist by training, and his involvement in the assignat designs reflects the Revolutionary government's early attempt to give the notes an engraved, authoritative character — a deliberate contrast with the cruder emergency issues that would follow as the decade wore on.