Assignat of fifty sols, law of 23 May 1793 (British Museum)
A fifty-sol note dated 'L'an 2me de la République' shows a seated figure holding a tablet of 'Droits de l'homme' and another holding up a pair of scales, with warnings of death for counterfeiters and a reward for informers in the side panels. The tell is the allegory and the virtue words standing as the note's guarantee; the 1792 note's royal formula is gone.
- Date
- May 23, 1793
- Period
- Pre-1914
- Made by
- French First Republic (Convention nationale, Domaines nationaux)
- Country
- French First Republic
- Medium
- Banknotes and coins
- Issuer type
- State
- Regime
- National Convention
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Theme
- Economy and finance
- Event
- French Revolution
- Techniques
- Glittering generalities
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- Wikimedia Commons, retrieved October 2, 2026
- Rights
- CC BY-SA 4.0 photograph of a 1793 note (note public domain by age)
Photograph: Hispalois, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; British Museum
Text on the object
Loi du 23 Mai 1793. Série 2534 L'An 2me de la République. Domaines nationaux. Assignat de cinquante sols, payable au porteur. [signature, possibly Saussay] [tablet] DROITS DE L'HOMME 50 [engravers' credit at foot illegible] LA LOI PUNIT DE MORT LE CONTREFACTEUR LA NATION RÉCOMPENSE LE DÉNONCIATEUR
Law of 23 May 1793. Series 2534. Year 2 of the Republic. National domains. Assignat of fifty sols, payable to the bearer. Rights of Man. The law punishes the counterfeiter with death; the nation rewards the informer.
