Bona 25 rubles in 1807, the so-called "Napoleonovka"

An original and quite rare banknote, made before the war of 1812 in France for circulation on the territory of the occupied Russian lands. The size is 130*173 mm. The issue of counterfeit enemy banknotes was a reprehensible, but repeatedly practiced action in the wars of the late XVIII — early XIX centuries. Thus, during the preparations for the invasion of Russia, on the instructions of Napoleon I, counterfeit Russian banknotes were made in denominations of 100, 50, and 25 rubles, dated 1805-1811. Subsequently, the name "Napoleonovka" became firmly established among collectors.

The forgery operation was conducted in an atmosphere of secrecy. The group of Napoleonic forgers consisted of only 3 people (the head was the head of the department of the Ministry of Police, Charles Desmarais, the direct executors were the engraver Lal and the typographer Fen). The above gentlemen treated the process of forging Russian banknotes "with their hearts." As a result, the quality of the French forgeries was superior to the originals — they were distinguished by a bluish tint of paper, a clearer watermark, deep embossed embossing, an even arrangement of letters in the words of the main text, and engraved signatures. The original banknotes were certified with three signatures. The front side of the document was signed by the director of the Assignation Bank and the cashier. On the other hand, he is an adviser to the bank's board. The documents were signed by hand, with pen and ink. Over time, the ink faded and turned brown. On the fakes, the signature was printed using ready-made cliches, and it did not lose its color over time. Although the French brought the appearance of typographic signatures closer to the authentic ones, trying to convey the movement of the pen, making the line thinner or thicker, nevertheless, upon closer examination, the difference is clearly noticeable. However, the French's ignorance of the Russian language led to a funny confusion of letters: in the main text, in the words "state" and "walking", the letter "d" was replaced by "l", in printed signatures "Pavel" turned into "Paviv", "Spiridon" into "Spiridot". 

Napoleon intended to use counterfeit banknotes in the occupied territory of the Russian Empire to pay the salaries of his army, as well as to purchase food and fodder. Napoleon's misunderstanding of the mysterious Russian soul (like the engraver's ignorance of the language of the country whose banknotes he forged) led to unexpected consequences.

First, it turned out that by 1812 the real value of the Russian banknote ruble was only 25 kopecks. Secondly, the patriotic peasantry everywhere refused to sell food and fodder to the invaders. And those who agreed to the deal, as a rule, demanded gold or silver as payment (paper banknotes of large denominations were not widely used among the common population, besides, in a war-ravaged state they simply could not be exchanged). Thirdly, the discontent of the French officers was growing every day. The salary paid in counterfeit banknotes, even doubled over time, was only half the usual salary. The lack of opportunity to use this salary further complicated the situation.

Thus, despite the excellent quality of the fakes, Napoleon's hopes for their widespread use did not materialize. Worried about his reputation, during the retreat he ordered the destruction of all unused counterfeit banknotes. Interestingly, after the fall of Napoleon's power, the French themselves suffered from fakes. The fact is that during the war in In Russia, the Cossacks managed to capture many enemy wagons with counterfeit banknotes and, having reached France itself, sought to exchange them for francs. The Paris Police Bulletin of May 25, 1814, reports that "there are many counterfeit Russian banknotes in circulation. The money changer who exchanged 450 francs for Russian money yesterday filed a complaint with the Russian general from whom he received them, but the general replied that Bonaparte had fabricated the money." So Napoleon's weapons turned against his former subjects.