v42_0449 - REVOLUTION COINAGE Essai de Galle à l'effigie de Mirabeau

REVOLUTION COINAGE / CONFIANCE (MONNAIES DE…)

(1791-1793)

The Monneron Brothers made in England by Matthew Boulton, thanks to Watt's steam engine, coins of 2 and 5 sols in large quantities in the workshop of Soho in Birmingham, from the end of the year 1791. These emergency coins should have made up for the monetary shortage that reigned in France and their technical and aesthetic quality was far superior to the mediocre contemporary official productions in base metals. In March 1792, the Monnerons went bankrupt and Pierre fled. His brother Augustin took over the business, but a law of May 3, 1792 prohibited the manufacture of private coins. In September, a decree prohibits the marketing of trust coins. These coins of necessity circulated in fact until the end of 1793.