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10 Sous Assignat
| Issuer | France |
|---|---|
| Year | 1792 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 10 Sols (1/2 LT) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
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| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Central vignette of two allegorical female figures flanking a pole surmounted by a Liberty cap, set within a triangular frame bearing the numeral 10. Two circular coin-like medallions flank the central vignette at left and right, with fasces motifs at the outer vertical borders. The note is typeset in letterpress with the denomination in large script across the upper half, and penalty and reward clauses printed in smaller type at the lower left and lower right corners respectively. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Plain paper reverse with no printed design, bearing two faint embossed oval dry-stamp impressions at the lower portion, consistent with an authentication control mark applied at the time of issue. |
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| Comments |
The 10 sous assignat was introduced in 1792 specifically to address a severe shortage of small-denomination coin in revolutionary France — copper and silver had been hoarded or melted, leaving ordinary transactions nearly impossible. The assignat system, originally conceived as land-backed bonds secured against confiscated Church and émigré property, had by this point collapsed into something closer to forced paper currency, with the small denominations bearing the worst of public distrust.
Gatteaux, a medalist and engraver at the Paris Mint, contributed designs across several assignat denominations. The dry stamp and watermark on this issue were genuine attempts at anti-counterfeiting, though forgers — many operating from émigré networks in Britain and the Austrian Netherlands — reproduced even these features with troubling accuracy.