1670-A Five Sols

Coin Details

Description

The 1670 Five Sols is one of the first coins specifically struck for French colonial use in the Americas. Produced at the Paris mint (mint mark A) under Louis XIV, the Sun King (r. 1643-1715), this silver coin formed the smaller denomination of the landmark 1670 colonial coinage program that established France's first dedicated monetary system for New France. Struck in silver, the Five Sols was the lower-value companion to the Fifteen Sols in this inaugural colonial issue. The denomination of five sols (one-quarter of a livre) made it suitable for everyday transactions in the colonial economy. The silver composition, while more expensive to produce than the billon that would become standard for later colonial issues, gave these early coins strong acceptance among colonial merchants and the indigenous trading partners with whom the French conducted extensive fur trade. The 1670 colonial coinage was a direct response to the desperate monetary situation in New France. Prior to this issue, the colony had experimented with card money, beaver pelt valuations, and Spanish coins acquired through Caribbean trade to supplement the inadequate supply of French metropolitan coins that occasionally arrived with supply ships. The decision to create purpose-built colonial coins represented a significant commitment by Louis XIV's government to the economic development of New France. The Five Sols was struck at Paris in limited quantities and shipped to Quebec for distribution. Given the small colonial population — approximately 7,000 settlers in 1670 — and the limited production run, the total number of these coins entering circulation was modest. Surviving examples are scarce and represent important artifacts from the genesis of French colonial numismatics in North America. Collectors value the 1670 Five Sols both for its rarity and its significance as one of the founding pieces of the French colonial series.