French Colonies (1670-1767)

About This Series

Spanning nearly a century of Bourbon monarchy rule over vast North American territories, French colonial coinage circulated from Quebec to Louisiana and the Caribbean sugar islands. The earliest issues include the 1670 silver 5 sols and 15 sols struck for colonial use, bearing Louis XIV's laureate bust with distinctive colonial reverses. Subsequent issues encompassed billon sols and half sols, copper deniers, and colonial countermarked pieces where metropolitan coins received stamps authorizing circulation at adjusted values. French coins circulated freely alongside English and Spanish currency in early North America, particularly in border regions and along trade routes. Card money — playing cards endorsed by colonial administrators — supplemented metallic coinage when shipments from Paris were delayed. The 1767 end date marks the effective close of French colonial coinage following the Treaty of Paris (1763), which transferred most of France's North American possessions to Britain and Spain. These coins provide essential evidence of the French presence that shaped North America from Montreal to New Orleans.