Dear gerald13-ga,
Thank you for this very interesting question to research.
The British did forge the French currency during the Revolutionary
period but it appears that was not the main reason for the collapse of
the economy. The main reason was hyperinflation.
In 1789 the French government introduced paper notes called assignats
which were backed by property confiscated during the revolution.
Further issues took place and hyperinflation began when too many notes
were issued and prices rose but wages did not. In 1797 the assignats
were withdrawn and replaced by a new system based upon gold.
The following information is from the San Jo?e State University,
Economics Department article: Episodes of hyperinflation
"In the spring of 1789 the French Assemblee decreed the issuance of
400 million livres of notes, called assignats, secured by the
properties which had been confiscated from the Church during the
revolution..."
In the next two year 20 million notes were issued.
"....Prices rose, but wages didn't keep up and in 1793 a mob plundered
200 stores in Paris. Price controls were imposed (Law of the Maximum).
Output decreased and rationing had to be implemented."
Notes in circulation by July 1795 had gone up to 14 billion livres.
"When the total reached 40 billion livres the printing plates for
assignats were publically destroyed. A new type of note, called a
mandat, was issued, but within two years these also lost 97 percent of
their value. The printing plates for mandats were also publically
destroyed. In 1797 both assignats and mandats were repudiated and a
new monetary system based upon gold was instituted."
http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/hyper.htm
From Napoleon.org
"With its back up against the wall, the newly founded Assemblée
Constituante relaunched the principle of paper money, introducing
semi-bond notes called 'assignats' in December 1789. A swift increase
in their production was matched only by the note's rapid devaluation:
in May 1791, 100 livres-papier (paper livres*) were only worth 73
livres espèces (coin livres), and one year later, the value had
dropped to half and and then nearly a quarter of their previous value.
Assignats were abandoned on 18 March, 1796, and demonetised on 4
February, 1797."
http://www.napoleon.org/en/reading_room/articles/files/franc_delage.asp
Article titled The Value of Money
"....this adventure in paper money ended badly for France in general
and the monarchy in particular. On September 29, 1790, another 800
million assignats were authorized. By 1791 another 600 million were
run off. In 1791, mobs stormed the Paris food shops looking for bread.
The government imposed price controls with the threat of the
guillotine for any merchant not in compliance. The French state
decreed that any person selling gold or silver coins, or making a
difference in a transaction between paper and gold, would be
imprisoned in iron for six years. On January 21, 1793, Louis XVI was
executed on the guillotine. On October 16, 1793, his Queen, Marie
Antoinette was also executed.
By May 1794, any person who even asked if payment was to be made in
gold or paper was subject to the death penalty. By 1796 the situation
was in such chaos that the French burned all their paper money and the
means of production: On February 18th, 1796, at nine o?clock in the
morning, in the presence of a great crowd, the machinery, plates and
paper for printing assignats were brought to the Place Vendome and
there, on the spot where the Napoleon Column know stands, these were
solemnly broken and burned.' (Andrew Dickson White, Fiat Money
Inflation in France.) So the French turned to the gold Napoleon and
for a century prospered on a full gold standard."
http://www.fame.org/PDF/Greg%20Pickup%201%2010%2003%20report.pdf
The British began to counterfeit assignats in the 1793 at a number of
mills in England including Humshaugh Mill. They stopped production in
1795. Unfortunately this is the only detailed English language
reference to the production of the notes.
"An interesting story in the history of Humshaugh is the part the
paper mill played in the war against Napoleon. In 1793, just 5 years
after the mill had been set up; the British Government came up with a
scheme to devalue the currency of revolutionary France. A number of
paper mills in remote parts of the country, including that at
Humshaugh, were commissioned to make paper to be used in the printing
of forged Assignats. [Assignats were the currency issued by the
revolutionary government of France] The forged notes were sent to
Flanders with the British Army under the command of the Duke of York.
One of the moulds for making the paper still survives and is in
possession of Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne."
http://communities.northumberland.gov.uk/Humshaugh.htm
There is a brief reference on this Public Record Office discussion on watermarks.
"In 1793-5 the English government counterfeited French assignats at
the Haughton Mill, in Northumbria."
http://www.pro.gov.uk/about/preservation/conservation/watermarks.pdf
Apart from the above reference that the army in Flanders were in
possession of the notes, this French language web site describes the
expedition to land émigré soldiers at Quiberon Bay in Brittany during
the summer of 1795. A translation shows that the transports contained
"80 000 rifles, 80 guns, of the ammunition, the powder, the uniforms,
the shoes for 60 000 men, biscuits, the salted meat, the brandy and
the reserves of forgery assignats."
http://museequiberon.port-haliguen.com/francais/1795.htm
They even appear in fiction books, this is from Victor Hugo?s book:
FIGHT WITH A CANNON
"The captain promptly recovered his presence of mind and ordered
everything that could check and impede the cannon's mad course to be
thrown through the hatchway down on the gun-deck-mattresses, hammocks,
spare sails, rolls of cordage, bags belonging to the crew, and bales
of counterfeit assignats, of which the corvet carried a large
quantity--a characteristic piece of English villainy regarded as
legitimate warfare."
http://www.mtroyal.ab.ca/gaslight/fightcan.htm
But the British were not the only ones forging assignats. There are
numerous references to French citizens being executed or imprisoned
for forging the notes. (use the last search term to obtain further
references)
London Times
Monday, Sept. 10, 1792
"....the people were demanding the registers from the keeper; that the
prisoners confined on account of crimes imputed to them on the 10th of
August, and those confined for forging assignats, were almost all
butchered, and that only eleven of them were saved."
http://www.english.ucsb.edu/faculty/ayliu/research/around-1800/FR/times-9-10-1792.html
The following are translated from the French
1793 THIBAUDIER Alphonse, (known as Gravignon), domiciled in Paris,
are condemned to died by contumacy by the criminal court of the
department of the Seine, as forger of forgery assignats.
http://www.safran-arts.com/42day/history/h4jun/h4jun05.html
1794 VINDRET Joseph, notary, domiciled with Carouge (Mont Blanc), like
distributor of forgery assignats, by the criminal court of the
department of Isère.
MITTGEN Nicolas, man?uvre, domiciled in Hunling (the Moselle), like
distributor of forgery assignats, by the criminal court of the
aforesaid department.
http://www.jcanu.hpg.ig.com.br/history/h4may/h4may14.html
KAFFIN Albert , commission agent, domiciled with Malmedy, department
of Ourte, condemned to death, by contumacy, like distributor of
forgery assignats, the 24 brumaire year 3, by the revolutionary
criminal court of Liege.
KERATRY Jean François Marie , ex count, above officer in the former
gendarmerie, 28 years old, born in Rennes, department of
Ille-and-Unpleasant, domiciled in Paris, department of the Seine,
condemned to death, as forger of forgery assignats, Thermidor 27 year
2, by the criminal court of the department of the Seine.
http://les.guillotines.free.fr/guillo-k.htm
I have not been able to identify how many notes were printed by the
British. If the answer to that exists, it will be in the Government
Records of the Public Record Office.
http://www.pro.gov.uk/
Finally this site has some images of the assignats. Click on the links
to view the images.
"French assignats were issued in such great numbers that even after
200 years they are so common that prices can be as low as $3 for a
good copy. They typically were printed only on one side of the paper,
in black ink only. Each bill has one or two watermarks and one or two
impressions from what look like a seal. People often made notes on the
back of these bills"
http://www.napoleonicmedals.org/paperm/france.htm
I hope this answers your question. If it does not, or the answer is
unclear, then please ask for clarification of this research before
rating the answer. I shall respond to the clarification request as
soon as I receive it.
Thank you
answerfinder
Initial searches identified the word assignats. Variations of forge
counterfeit France British assignats
counterfeit assignats
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=counterfeit+assignats+
counterfeiting assignats
://www.google.com/search?q=counterfeiting+assignats+&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&start=0&sa=N
"forging assignats"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22forging+assignats%22
"faux assignats"
://www.google.com/search?q=%22faux+assignats%22&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8 |
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