Harper's Young People, January 11, 1881

German postage stamps for any other foreign stamps.

    Maude Buckner,
    1208 Russell Street, Covington, Ky.

Postage stamps and postmarks for foreign postage stamps and coin.

    S. New,
    127 East Sixty-ninth Street, New York City.

Postmarks for postage stamps.

    Thomas K. Durham,
    P. O. Box 735, New York City.

Postmarks and War Department stamps for stamps and monograms.

    Campbell T. Hamilton,
    Fort Preble, Portland, Maine.

Shells for Indian relics, shells, ore, or petrified wood.

    Henry Scott,
    20 Patchen Avenue, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Postmarks for postmarks and stamps.

    Al. E. Barker,
    P. O. Box 115, Judsonia, White County, Ark.

Foreign postage stamps for minerals, fossils, shells, sea-weed, or birds' eggs.

    Louis D. Orrison,
    Care of Abernathy, North, & Orrison,
    Kansas City, Missouri.

Southern moss for a Chinese coin or any old relic.

    Daisy Rollins,
    P. O. Box 186, Columbus, Missouri.

Twenty-five postmarks for two rare stamps.

    W. W. Elhose,
    22 Brill Street, Newark, N. J.

Foreign postage stamps or postmarks for all kinds of United States internal revenue stamps.

    George Wells,
    P. O. Box 466, New York City.

Curiosities, postage stamps, or sea-shells for curiosities. Or thirty postmarks for five birds' eggs. No duplicates.

    Harry Madison,
    206 Stockton Street, San Francisco, California.

One hundred postage stamps for ten coins, or for ten birds' eggs. No duplicates.

    Frank Knox,
    2318 Third Avenue, New York City.

Minerals, fossils, rare stamps, or monograms for coats of arms, crests, and monograms.

    A Reader of "Young People,"
    Lock Box 42,
    Little Falls, Herkimer County, N. Y.

California curiosities, shells, or minerals for old or rare American coins.

    C. W., Jun.,
    P. O. Box 2305, San Francisco, California.

Foreign stamps for postmarks and postal cards. Postmarks must be cut square.

    C. S. Petrasch,
    13 West Thirty-second Street, New York City.

Two fine specimens of Southern fern, or some evening-glory seeds, for United States postage stamps.

    Emma Bruff,
    238 Felicity Street, New Orleans, La.

Postage stamps.

    Hawley Webster,
    394 Clinton Avenue, Brooklyn, Long Island.

Postmarks.

    Louis Gibbs,
    Care of J. J. Carter, Titusville, Penn.

C. H. L. – The old scrip which you inclose is probably a genuine five-franc assignat, as the paper money was called which was first issued by the French government in 1790, and afterward by the Revolutionary authorities. It was based on the security of the public domain, consisting of the confiscated estates of the Church and wealthy exiles. The value of these assignats, which were issued to the amount of 45,578,000,000 francs, declined rapidly after the reign of terror. In the summer of 1793, one franc in silver was worth three francs in paper. Three years later, one franc in gold was worth three hundred francs in paper, although the government, in order to check this depreciation, had passed a law to regulate the price of commodities.

The inscription on your assignat shows that it was issued in October or November, 1793, the second year of the French Republic. The lettering in the corners proclaims death to any one who should dare to counterfeit the assignat. The livre, which name appears on the scrip, was a French coin about the value of a franc, by which it was superseded in 1795. Eighty francs were equal in value to eighty-one livres.

If you examine your assignat carefully you will see to the left the dim and faded stamp of the figure of Liberty, and if you have a strong magnifying-glass, you can amuse yourself by trying to make out the lettering around it. This little scrap of coarse paper, not quite a hundred years old, may incite you to read the story of the terrible time of which it is a relic. If you are not old enough to enjoy Carlyle's History of the French Revolution, you will find the scenes vividly portrayed in Charles Dickens's Tale of Two Cities, and Victor Hugo's novel entitled "'93."

Henry H. T. – Your proposal to found a Natural History Society, composed of contributors to Harper's Young People, is hardly practical. The exchange of specimens, etc., would be dilatory and difficult, as our contributors are scattered over the whole continent. Local societies of the kind you mean might be formed to advantage, and the officers of different associations could correspond with each other, and exchange views and information.