Assignat

About Assignat

Paper money issued by the French Revolutionary government, backed by confiscated church property. Initially successful, the assignat allowed the revolution to proceed by funding the state without taxation. But overprinting caused the value to collapse. By 1796, assignats were worth less than 1 percent of face value. The government resorted to destroying printing presses. The assignat disaster made France suspicious of paper money for over a century, preferring gold and silver coinage.