The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Consignation \Con`sig*na"tion\, n. [L. consignatio written
   proof, document: cf. F. consignation comsignation.]
   1. The act of consigning; the act of delivering or committing
      to another person, place, or state. [Obs.]
      [1913 Webster]

            So is despair a certain consignation to eternal
            ruin.                                 --Jer. Taylor.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. The act of ratifying or establishing, as if by signing;
      confirmation; ratification.
      [1913 Webster]

            A direct consignation of pardon.      --Jer. Taylor.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. A stamp; an indication; a sign. [Obs.]
      [1913 Webster]

            The most certain consignations of an excellent
            virtue.                               --Jer. Taylor.
      [1913 Webster]

Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):

CONSIGNATION, contracts. In the civil law, it is a deposit which a debtor
makes of the thing that he owes, into the hands of a third person, and under
the authority of a court of justice. Poth. Oblig. P. 3, c. 1, art. 8.
     2. Generally the consignation is made with a public officer it is very
similar to our practice of paying money into court.
     3. The term to consign, or consignation, is derived from the Latin
consignare, which signifies to seal, for it was formerly the practice to
seal up the money thus received in a bag or box. Aso & Man. Inst. B. 2, t.
11, c. 1, Sec. 5. See Burge on Sur. 138.