Four Hundred Livres

During the French Revolution the Constituent Assembly issued paper currency based on the value of land confiscated from the church and the crown. The currency had more likeness to a promissory note than a banknote and was supposed to be used solely for the purchase of land. The Assignat were to be destructed after use. The low faith in the currency, an extensive printing and frequent fraudulent use of the Assignat resulted in rapid inflation and eventually the collapse of the banknotes.