The French government currently honors a very unusual debt contract: an annuity that was issued in 1738 and currently yields 1.20 Euro per year. I tell the story of this unique debt, which serves as an anecdotal but symbolic summary of French public finances since the 18th century. -- life...

In the 18th century Britain frequently issued lottery loans, selling bonds whose sizewas determined by a draw soon after the sale. The probability distribution was perfectly known ex-ante and highly skewed. After the draw the bonds were identical (except for size) and indistinguishable from...