Catalog
24 Livres
| Issuer | Domaine du Roi (Colony of New France) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1729-1749 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Handwritten card-money note on plain paper, with manuscript text in period French script reading the denomination and order of payment, accompanied by two ink stamp impressions at the upper portion serving as official validation seals. A large cursive signature occupies the lower half of the note, with a secondary inscription below identifying the issuing authority. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Plain paper reverse with no printed design or text, typical of French colonial card money issued in New France during the eighteenth century. |
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| Comments |
Card money — not playing cards repurposed as currency, but a formal system of colonial IOUs cut from cardstock and signed by the intendant — had been used in New France since 1685, when Governor Denonville ran short of coin waiting for the annual supply ship from France. The 24 Livres denomination belongs to the later, more regularized phase of that tradition, issued under royal domain authority as the colonial administration struggled to manage chronic coin shortages without authorization to mint local currency.
Redemption was perennially delayed, and by the 1750s accumulated card money debt had ballooned to over 16 million livres — much of it never honored after the British conquest.