Banque de France note, 20 francs

In 1871, the year of the Paris Commune, the head office of the Banque de France lay under the Commune's control. In its vaults slept 88 million francs in gold coin and 166 million francs in banknotes, but Charles Beslay, a Proudhonist, did not seize them; he kept to lending 400,000 francs a day and protected the bank. This blue 20-franc note is an actual piece, from those same years, of the issue that was protected. The credit of the Banque de France, left unbroken, went on to carry the bond subscription for the Prussian indemnity a few months later.