BOOK REVIEW: PLAYFAIR

Wall Street Journal Reviews Playfair by Bruce Berkowitz

The Wall Street Journal of January 12 (online version accessible by subscription) included a review of the book Playfair, recently published by George Mason University. “ ‘Playfair is the most famous man you have never heard of’ Bruce Berkowitz declares of the subject of his biography” begins the review. Playfair (1759-1823) turns out to be a Zelig-like character, winding his way in and out of the events of the day, from the French Revolution to the founding of the United States.

Numismatists will be especially interested in his role as a counterfeiter. “In the mid-1790s, after war had been declared between England and revolutionary France, Playfair persuaded the London government to back his attempt to wreck the French economy by counterfeiting vast numbers of assignats, the paper currency France used to pay for its wars with England. At a time when paper was still handmade, one sheet at a time, from discarded cloth, 90 reams of paper a week were used to print counterfeit French bank notes…”

Playfair was also involved in the Scioto Affair of 1790, which duped French investors into purchasing western American land and ultimately stranded them in the Ohio wilderness. Thanks to Gerry Tebben for bringing this book review to our attention.

To read the complete article, see:
Review: ‘Playfair’ Plotted for England (https://www.wsj.com/articles/review-playfair-plotted-for-england-1515790469)

For more information, or to order the book, see: Playfair: The True Story of the British Secret Agent Who Changed How We See the World (https://publishing.gmu.edu/press/catalog/playfair/)

To read the Wikipedia article on Playfair, see:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Playfair (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Playfair)

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