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An assignat banknote, issued in 1792, with a face value of 400 livres. An early French banknote first issued in 1789, during the French Revolution, the assignat was backed by the value of seized properties. Amidst widespread counterfeiting, limited use, and opposition from counter-revolutionaries, the assignat devalued quickly and was replaced by the mandat in 1796.Banknote: République Française; image courtesy of the National Numismatic Collection at the National Museum of American History (Smithsonian Institution)