The Gold Coin that Financed a War: The Napoleon

The Unchanging Weight of Gold

The Germinal Law, established in 1803, introduced a 20 Francs gold coin to the world. Commonly known as the Napoleon. Total weight 6.45161 grams, fine gold 5.806 grams, diameter 21 mm. The remarkable aspect of this gold coin is that its specifications remained unchanged across different political regimes.

The gold coin, initially bearing the profile of Napoleon I, later changed its portrait to feature the restored kings, the Second Empire, and finally Marianne and the rooster of the Third Republic. Even as the emperor departed, kings came, and a republic was established, the weight of gold in a 20 Francs coin alone remained as it was in 1803.

The Metal Napoleon Desired

Napoleon, mindful of the memory of the Assignat which collapsed with the revolutionary government, did not print paper money for war expenses. What the First Consul desired was metal in hand. On April 30, 1803, France sold Louisiana in North America to the United States for 80 million francs. However, the majority of the payment was in long-term government bonds.

This is where Baring & Co. of London and Hope & Co. of Amsterdam stepped in. The two banks took up the bonds for 52 million francs and, in April 1804, delivered the remaining 40.35 million francs to France in a single payment. In May of the previous year, 1803, France and Britain had already gone to war. This meant that banks from an enemy nation provided cash for the war chest against Britain. The British government at first tacitly approved it, then at the end of 1803 ordered Barings to stop paying; Hope & Co. took over the rest of the payments.

Wealth Gathered from Conquered Lands

Another source of revenue was the war itself: contributions from occupied territories, reparations from defeated nations, and local requisitions. After the Treaties of Tilsit, Prussia was forced to pay 120 million francs in reparations. Separately, between 146 million and 309 million francs were extracted through requisitions and quartering of troops.

At this time, Prussia's population had been reduced by half. This was not clever wartime financing, but a surplus stolen from others. This system worked as long as the conquests continued.

Loyalty Bought with Rewards, and Its End

Contributions from conquered lands were kept separate from the regular budget and are said to have been directly controlled by the Emperor. This system was called the *Domaine extraordinaire* and is reported to have been established around 1810. The money was turned into rewards for marshals and generals, used to buy the army's loyalty.

However, this entire pipeline was predicated on continuous victory. In 1812, when the conquests halted in Russia, the fountain of rewards also reversed its flow. This was because the source of funds was the war itself.

The Gold Coin that Became Synonymous with Savings

The era of conquest ended, but the gold coin remained. Though the engraved profiles changed, the weight of the gold did not. This fact of its unchangeability made the gold coin a symbol of trust.

The 5 billion gold francs indemnity paid to Prussia in 1871 was also supported by the gold paid in these coins. That is why even today, the French refer to this gold coin as a synonym for savings. However, this system was a bimetallic standard of gold and silver, not a gold standard.