1722/1-H Nine Deniers

Coin Details

Description

The 1722 Nine Deniers is a small French colonial copper coin struck at the La Rochelle mint (mint mark H) during the financial reforms initiated under John Law's monetary system. Worth nine deniers (three-quarters of a sou), this denomination was part of an effort to establish a reliable supply of small change for colonial transactions at a time when the French colonial monetary system was undergoing radical transformation. Unlike the billon compositions used for larger French colonial denominations, the Nine Deniers was struck in pure copper, measuring approximately 25mm in diameter and weighing roughly 3 grams. The use of copper rather than billon for this small denomination reflected both the low face value of the coin and the ongoing monetary experiments of the Law era, which sought to rationalize the relationship between coin metal content and face value. The Nine Deniers was produced primarily at the Rouen (B) and La Rochelle (H) mints, both of which were major production centers for French colonial coinage. Rouen, located in Normandy with easy access to Channel shipping routes, and La Rochelle, the historic port city that served as a primary departure point for ships bound for New France, were logical choices for minting coins destined for Atlantic colonial trade. This denomination was issued during the transitional period between the death of Louis XIV in 1715 and the assumption of full royal authority by Louis XV. The Regency government under Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, adopted John Law's monetary theories in hopes of resolving the massive debts inherited from Louis XIV's wars. The Nine Deniers, along with other colonial coins of this period, represents a tangible artifact of these bold but ultimately disastrous financial experiments that culminated in the collapse of the Mississippi Bubble in 1720.