AN A TO Z OF BANKNOTES OF THE WORLD FRANCE
Paper money first made what turned out to be an inglorious debut in France in the early 18th century when John Law, a Scotsman with a flair for mathematics and a persuasive tongue, became Controller General of Finance. He is remembered for his disastrous flotation of the Mississippi Company, who issued paper money signed by him in 1716, before going on to establish the Banque Royale. This also collapsed and he fled the country. Early paper money from this period is rare, especially notes signed by Law himself.
Paper money scarcely featured again until the French revolution of 1789. In this year the first Assignats were issued, small notes theoretically backed by newly nationalised church property, known as Domaines Nationaux. They
