Georgiana was certainly not foolish enough to think the conservative bankers would actually place their coins in her hands and let her manage them.
She guessed that, in the end, each bank would still review and issue its own loans. They might not even release coins at all, instead issuing the banknotes printed by their own banks.
Paper money and banknotes had one thing in common: both were paper and held no inherent value. The difference was that paper money could not be exchanged at banks, while banknotes could. Another difference was that paper money depreciated as more of it was issued, whereas banknotes did not. Banknotes had to be backed by both gold and credit, and their holders could exchange them for gold at the issuing bank at any time.
As long as a bank did not collapse, those holding its banknotes could use them as a medium of exchange. But once the bank failed, the notes became nothing more than wastepaper, and their value could not be equated with paper money.
Since the outbreak of the French Revolution, several governments had come and gone, and banks had collapsed just as quickly. If Napoleon had not returned from Egypt, the Directory's paper money would have entered hyperinflation as well. Assignats, paper money, banknotes—none of them seemed particularly reliable. Hard currency was still the safest choice.
In troubled times, gold and silver were more dependable than antiques, artworks, or jewelry. At first, Napoleon in Italy had still sent money back to the Directory. Later, he sent back only artworks. That was how he had played the Directory's bureaucrats.
Georgiana did not believe Henry Petty had been thoughtful enough to tell Napoleon about this method, prompting bankers to spend the money sitting in their banks and revitalize France's economy.
Napoleon was