Monneron family

The Monneron family was a French family whose documented history extended from the sixteenth century into the nineteenth century and whose members became involved in commerce, public administration, politics, and finance. The family originated in the village of Ampurany near Tournon-sur-Rhône and was established in Chanos by about 1550. Its later rise was associated with Antoine III Monneron, born in 1703, and his wife Barbe Arnault. Their very large family helped produce several generations of Monnerons who occupied positions in local society and, during the revolutionary period, took part in commercial and political life. Antoine III Monneron and his household moved successively through Antibes, Tournon, and Annonay. In 1739, Antoine acquired the position of receiver of the grenier à sel tax in Annonay, a role connected with the administration of the salt tax. He was also described as a lawyer to the Parlement and as controller-general of the Fermes du Roi to the Parlement of Antibes. These offices placed the family within the administrative and legal structures of the ancien régime while also providing a foundation for later commercial activity. The best-known commercial episode connected with the family was the business known as Les Frères Monneron. During the early French Revolution, the brothers arranged for the production in England of copper or base-metal pieces denominated at two and five sols. The coins were manufactured at Matthew Boulton's Soho works in Birmingham, whose industrial capabilities had been strengthened by the steam-engine technology associated with James Watt. Production began in large quantities toward the end of 1791. The pieces responded to a shortage of small-denomination coinage in France and were regarded as technically and artistically superior to many of the inferior base-metal issues circulating through official channels. The enterprise was short-lived. The Monnerons became bankrupt in March 1792, after which Pierre fled and Augustin assumed control of the business. French legislation then closed the route on which the enterprise depended: a law of 3 May 1792 prohibited private concerns from producing money, and a decree issued in September prohibited the commercial circulation of confidence coins. Despite those measures, the Monneron pieces remained in circulation until the end of 1793. Their historical importance therefore lies less in commercial longevity than in the way they illustrate the monetary disruption of revolutionary France, the use of private industrial capacity to address a public shortage, and the uncertain boundary between commercial tokens and official currency. The family genealogy includes numerous branches and descendants. Among the individuals associated with the family were Antoine Joseph Monneron, Jean Antoine Monneron, Gaspard François Monneron, Jean Louis Monneron, Jean Marie Monneron, Pierre Antoine Monneron, Jean Chrysostome Janvier Monneron, and Joseph François Augustin Monneron. Several members lived through the revolutionary and Napoleonic periods, while later descendants extended the family line into the nineteenth century. The family is not documented as a continuing modern consumer brand or operating corporation; its relevance is historical, genealogical, political, and numismatic.

The Monneron family traced its origins to Ampurany near Tournon-sur-Rhône and had established itself in Chanos by approximately 1550. The family later became associated with Antoine III Monneron, who was born in 1703, and his wife Barbe Arnault. They had twenty children, although eight died in infancy. The household lived successively in Antibes, Tournon, and Annonay. In Annonay, Antoine acquired the office of receiver of the grenier à sel tax in 1739. He was also identified as a lawyer to the Parlement and as controller-general of the Fermes du Roi for the Parlement of Antibes. The family expanded across many branches during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Its members entered commercial, administrative, legal, and political life, producing a broad genealogy rather than a single continuously managed firm. The family’s most notable commercial undertaking was Les Frères Monneron, associated with the Monneron brothers during the monetary crisis of the French Revolution. The business commissioned Matthew Boulton to manufacture private copper or base-metal pieces at the Soho factory in Birmingham, England. Soho had the industrial capacity to produce large quantities of technically advanced coinage, drawing on the steam-engine innovations connected with James Watt. Two- and five-sols pieces were produced from late 1791. They were intended to alleviate the shortage of small change in France and were considered better made and more attractive than many contemporary official base-metal issues. The operation collapsed into bankruptcy in March 1792. Pierre Monneron fled, while his brother Augustin took over the business. The legal environment soon made the enterprise untenable. A French law of 3 May 1792 prohibited private organizations from producing money, and a September decree prohibited the commercial use of confidence coins. The pieces continued to circulate through the end of 1793 despite the restrictions. The family tree records numerous descendants, including members of the Antoine, Pierre, Louis, Jean Chrysostome Janvier, and Joseph François Augustin branches. Individuals listed in the genealogy lived across the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, with some descendants continuing into the early twentieth century. The historical subject is therefore best understood as a family and a network of associated individuals, not as an active brand. Its enduring public association comes from the Monneron brothers’ private coinage and from the family’s place in the political and commercial history of revolutionary France.

• 1793

  Monneron pieces cease circulating

  [1]Monneron familyen.wikipedia.org

  The privately produced pieces remained in circulation until approximately the end of 1793.

• 1792

  Bankruptcy and prohibition of private coin production

  [1]Monneron familyen.wikipedia.org

  The Monneron enterprise went bankrupt in March. French legislation in May prohibited private money production, followed by a September restriction on confidence coins.

• 1791

  Production of Monneron necessity coins begins

  [1]Monneron familyen.wikipedia.org

  Les Frères Monneron began producing two- and five-sols pieces in large quantities at Matthew Boulton’s Soho works in Birmingham.

• 1739

  Antoine Monneron acquires a tax office in Annonay

  [1]Monneron familyen.wikipedia.org

  Antoine acquired the position of receiver of the grenier à sel tax in Annonay, strengthening the family’s administrative standing.

• 1737

  Move to Tournon

  [1]Monneron familyen.wikipedia.org

  Antoine III Monneron and his household lived in Tournon during the family’s movement through the Rhône region.

• 1550

  Family established in Chanos

  [1]Monneron familyen.wikipedia.org

  The family is recorded as having established itself in Chanos around this period after originating near Tournon-sur-Rhône.

A historical French family and associated revolutionary-era coinage venture rather than a continuing commercial brand.

• Necessity coin · 1791

  Two-sols Monneron pieces

  A private two-sols denomination produced for Les Frères Monneron at the Soho factory in Birmingham from late 1791. These pieces addressed the shortage of small change in revolutionary France and were valued for their relatively high technical and aesthetic quality compared with many contemporary base-metal issues.

• Necessity coin · 1791

  Five-sols Monneron pieces

  A private five-sols denomination issued alongside the two-sols pieces during the Monneron brothers’ brief coinage venture. Manufactured in England in substantial quantities, the pieces circulated in France during the revolutionary monetary shortage until legal restrictions and the collapse of the business ended the undertaking.

• 1791

  Launch of privately produced necessity coinageProduct launch

  Background

  France faced a shortage of small-denomination money during the revolutionary period, creating demand for practical alternatives to inadequate official base-metal issues.

  Action taken

  Les Frères Monneron commissioned Matthew Boulton’s Soho factory in Birmingham to produce two- and five-sols pieces in large quantities.

  Aftermath

  The pieces circulated for a limited period, but the enterprise entered bankruptcy in March 1792 and private money production was prohibited by French law in May.

  Source

1. 1Monneron familyen.wikipedia.org