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France 1793 50 Sols Uncut sheet of 20x Paper Assignats

Currency:CAD Category:Coins & Paper Money / Paper Money - Europe Start Price:100.00 CAD Estimated At:500.00 CAD and UP
France 1793 50 Sols Uncut sheet of 20x Paper Assignats
We are accepting Internet Bids, E-mail, Phone or Faxed in Bids. Session 1 will begin on Friday, September 6th at 5:30 PM EST. Session 2 will follow on Saturday, September 7th at 5:30 PM EDT (2:30 PM PT). Session 3 will take place on Sunday, September 8th at 12:00 PM EDT (9:00 AM PT).

Tel: 519-579-9302 (Ext. 221 or 212 after hours)
Fax: 519-579-0532
Email: auctions@colonialacres.com

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Starting in 1789, the new revolutionary government of France issued paper assignats to raise money, circulating them like modern banknotes. While some were high denominations, many were small values intended to replace increasingly scarce coins. Early high-value notes featured the head of the Bourbon King, Louis XVI, but most notes included symbols of liberty and revolution. The 50 sols note, for instance, depicted two allegorical female figures representing Justice, with her scales, and the new Constitution, with a tablet inscribed "de l'Homme" (The Rights of Man). This note was issued during a pivotal moment in the French Revolution, the year Louis XVI was sent to the guillotine.

The value of these notes was supposed to be guaranteed by the government through the sale of confiscated church land. However, like John Law's earlier experiment with paper money in France, assignats were grossly overissued. Their value plummeted so much that they eventually became worth less than the paper they were printed on. The French government ultimately abandoned the note issue in February 1796.