In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

ix Note on Currency old regime currency 1 livre = 20 sous = 240 deniers The livre, also referred to as the livre tournois or the livre de Tours, was a money of account rather than an actual coin. The franc, a gold coin, was valued roughly equal to a livre, and the two terms were used interchangeably. The écu was the French state’s money of account from 1576 to 1602. It was also a real coin, made of silver in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and worth roughly three livres, although its value fluctuated throughout this period. The louis was a gold coin worth six livres. In addition to coins minted in France, foreign coins circulated widely during this time period. The Spanish silver real and the Italian silver scudo, in particular, found prominence within French exchange. revolutionary currency 1 franc = 10 décimes = 100 centimes The franc became the national currency in 1795, valued at 4.5 grams of silver. The germinal franc was introduced in 1803, valued at 290.32 milligrams of gold. The French Republic issued silver coins in denominations of ¼ franc,½ franc, 1 franc, 2 francs, and 5 francs. Gold coins in denominations of 20 francs and 40 francs also circulated. Finally, the republican mint used copper to mint coins in denominations of 1 and 2 décimes and 1 and 5 centimes. Although the metallic currency remained linked to the value of silver and gold, the number of coins in circulation declined throughout the 1790s, as the x Note on Currency French Republic exchanged its gold and silver reserves against the assignat, a paper currency based on the estimated value of nationalized church properties . Excessive printing of assignats resulted in hyperinflation and food riots in 1796. The French government under Napoleon abandoned the assignat and France’s experiment in paper currency in 1803, returning to a metallic currency tied to the value of gold and silver. ...

Share