Monneron of 2 sols
1791 ・ copper ・ 18th century ・ The Monneron brothers / Boulton's Soho Mint
A copper token of 2 sols ordered by the Monneron brothers, circulating as private money exchangeable against the small assignats. Good tokens passed from hand to hand in place of specie, which tended to be hoarded, and they mirror the mind of people who chose coin over paper. Gresham's law, that bad money drives out good, worked here too, and specie disappeared from the market. That people went on using them even after the ban was itself a sign of their distrust of the assignat.