Assignat of fifteen sols, law of 4 January 1792
A fifteen-sol note secured on 'Domaines nationaux' is dated 'L'an quatrième de la liberté' and carries two seated figures flanking a stele marked 'Droit de l'homme', with a seal reading 'La Nation, la Loi, le Roi'. The tell is the virtue vocabulary on a payment instrument: liberty and rights are printed beside the face value as the guarantee, with the banknote itself a vehicle for the political message.
- Date
- January 4, 1792
- Period
- Pre-1914
- Made by
- French state (Assemblée nationale, Domaines nationaux)
- Country
- France
- Medium
- Banknotes and coins
- Issuer type
- State
- Leader
- Louis Xvi
- 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
- Public domain (French note issued 1792; Commons PD-old)
Wikimedia Commons (PD-old)
Text on the object
LOI DU 4. JANVIER 1792. [seal] quinze sols. [seal] LA NATION LA LOI LE ROI L'AN QUATRIÈME DE LA LIBERTÉ. Domaines nationaux. Assignat de quinze sols, payable au porteur. [signature illegible] [engravers' credits illegible: GÉRARD / FECIT] [stele] DROIT DE L'HOMME [scroll] FAITS HISTO[illegible] 15s. Série 273. LA LOI PUNIT DE MORT LE CONTREFACTEUR LA NATION RÉCOMPENSE LE DÉNONCIATEUR
Law of 4 January 1792. Fifteen sols. The Nation, the Law, the King. The fourth year of Liberty. National domains. Assignat of fifteen sols, payable to the bearer. Right of Man. Series 273. The law punishes the counterfeiter with death; the nation rewards the informer.
