This depreciation was due partly to the want of confidence in the stability of the Government, partly to the fact that the coarsely-executed and easily-counterfeited assignats were forged in great numbers.
Royal assignats of five livres were exchanged for six, seven, and eight livres of the republican paper.
The opinion that prevailed at this time that a restoration of the monarchy was intended by the Convention, had rendered every one solicitous to amass assignats issued during the late King's reign.
For instance, many idle people are kept in pay to applaud at the debates and executions, and assignats are distributed to those who have sons serving in the army.
I am every day convinced, that this and the assignats are the great causes of the alienation visible in many who were once the warmest patriots.
I set off for Strasbourg yesterday, to see Destouches once again, and entreat him to accept theassignats in part-payment at least.
The possessor of the assignatswas fain, at last, to adopt Madame Souday's iterated counsel, and placed 120 paper francs before the owner of Cocotte.
Others rushed to the gambling saloons, already dreaming of the stroke of good fortune that would enlarge the rolls of assignats with which their pockets were filled.
Coursegol put the assignats in his pocket, and secreted the gold in a leather belt he wore; then without another word, he started in quest of Philip and Dolores.
At the instance of Bridoul he had speculated a little in assignats which were constantly fluctuating in value.
Gold and silver were becoming scarce; and assignats were subject to daily fluctuations that afforded one an excellent opportunity to realize handsome profits, if one had a little money on hand and knew how to employ it to advantage.
Why that is more than enough for the establishment of a lucrative business or for speculation in assignats which, with prudence, would yield you a fortune.
The assignats have already undergone a very considerable depreciation.
The effect of these assignats on the receipt of the revenue is remarkable.
Now, at this date, the assignatsare at a discount of 55 per cent.
Moreover, "they cut down provisions to a price in assignats very much less than their current rate in silver," and they double the price of a day's work.
Thus forced into a narrow channel, it rises to a rate which the depreciation of the assignats augments, its dearness being not only maintained, but ever on the increase.
It was translated in all the languages of Europe, and was a terrible retribution for the forged assignats whose distribution in France the English government had considered a fair mode of warfare.
The assignats are not of the same value they were a year ago, and as the quantity increases the value of them will diminish.
If it were not for this the quantity of assignats would be too great to be circulated.
Concerning the false French assignats forged in England, see Louis Blanc's "History of the Revolution," vol.
It became an offence to sell coin, or to differentiate between coin andassignats in any transaction, or to refuse payment in assignats, or to negotiate assignats at a discount.
Thus the assignats may be regarded as a floating debt currency.
The French assignats "have taken their place in history as the classical example of paper money made worthless by over-issue.
The issue of French assignats began in 1789 because the assembly would not vote adequate taxation, and Necker, the minister of finance, was unable to borrow enough to cover the deficit.
A new currency of mandats was tried, into which assignats were made convertible.
Thereafter the laws enforcing the acceptance of assignatswere strengthened.
Country people expressed their contempt for the assignats by calling them l'argent de Paris.
Further proposals for "demonetising" gold and issuing unlimited amounts of unconvertible notes, on the model of the assignats of the French Revolution, will be found in Chapter XX.
Her orders were executed, and theassignats were delivered to the King.
She therefore directed, me to go and receive those twenty-four thousand francs, to add them to the one hundred thousand francs she had placed in my hands, and to change the whole into assignats to increase their amount.
I know not whether the sum was in assignats or specie.
Assignats had fallen to almost nothing, and taxes were collected with such difficulty, that there were arrears to the amount of fifteen hundred millions of francs.
New issues were made at every crisis, until the over issue alarmed the reflecting portion of the community, and assignats depreciated to a mere nominal value.
Its depreciation is in the proportion of eight for one, compared with the value of its money when the system began; which is the state the French assignats stood a year ago (March 1795) compared with gold and silver.
A failure in the finance of the assignats broke up the revolutionary government, and produced the present French Constitution.
Though every thing rose in price soon after assignats appeared, yet those dear articles could be purchased no cheaper with gold and silver, than with paper, and it was only said that things were dear.
There cannot be a greater error than the fear so generally prevalent as to the over-issue of assignats .
Those assignats which were returned to the state as purchase-money were to be cancelled, and the whole issue, it was argued, would consequently disappear as the national lands were distributed.
With these the creditors could purchase national land, the assignats having, for this purpose, the preference over other forms of money.
Even between the assignats themselves there were differences.
Assignats were so termed, as representing land assigned to the holders.
In this emergency assignats were issued to provide a substitute for a metallic currency.
The assignats were first to be paid to the creditors of the state.
Attempts by the Convention to increase the value of the assignats were of no avail.
Notwithstanding these precautions, the value of assignats still declined, till the proportion to specie had become that of six to one.
Of these devices, the French Assignats are not the least remarkable.
Our sketch represents several of the different forms in which the Assignats were issued to the public.
He added thoughtfully,-- "In the mean time there are eighteen manufactories of false assignats in London.
The place of the assignats had been taken by another form of paper money called "mandats," but these too had been rejected by the people, who could no longer be brought to believe in paper money of any description.
In the war with Holland, he saw nothing but gold to seize on, and assignats to sell at par.
The Belgians have seen in this forced introduction of assignats nothing but a double robbery; and they have only the more violently hated the union with France.
Did not this language energetically enough signify that they looked upon the assignats as a leprosy, and the union as a deadly contagion?
We go about asking when assignats will expire, and we laugh at the last price of them.
In actual fact, the guarantee of assignats is used up and the taxes do not come in.
The assignats lose forty per centum, and the ascertained deficit for 1792 is four hundred millions.
Assignats were issued with such reckless profusion that the total for the three years of the Convention has been estimated at 7250 millions of francs.
The directory then endeavoured to revive paper money; it proposed the issue of mandats territoriaux, which were to be substituted for the assignats then in circulation, at the rate of thirty for one, and to take the place of money.
But sooner or later the assignats would fall into the hands of men disposed to realise them, and then they were to be destroyed at the same time that they ceased to be a pledge.
To increase the difficulty, the assignats were falling into discredit, and their value diminished daily.
More than eight milliards of assignats had been issued before the 9th Thermidor, and since that period thirty thousand millions had been added to that sum, already so enormous.
It was hoped that specie concealed by distrust would immediately re-appear, and that the assignats would enter into competition with it.
Is not the difference between the currency which you recommend and the assignats just this, that the Government are bound to take back whatever they issue?
The French assignats were issued upon no principle at all, because no provision was made for their redemption.
They could not receive them back; they could not get their taxation, on account of the revolution which was going on; therefore the assignats fell to nothing.
The above list will hopefully give you a few useful examples demonstrating the appropriate usage of "assignats" in a variety of sentences. We hope that you will now be able to make sentences using this word.
