1760-A Sou Marque

Coin Details

Description

The 1760 Sou Marque is a French colonial billon coin worth 24 deniers, struck at the Paris mint (mint mark A) under the authority of Louis XV, the Well-Beloved (r. 1715-1774). The Sou Marque was the most widely circulated French denomination in the North American colonies, serving as everyday money in New France (present-day Canada and the Great Lakes region), Louisiana, and the French West Indies. The obverse features the crowned double-L monogram of Louis XV, a royal cipher that identified the coin as an official product of the French crown. The reverse displays a crowned arrangement of three fleurs-de-lis, the heraldic symbol of the French monarchy, surrounded by the legend indicating the denomination and date. The "Marque" designation distinguished these coins as specifically authorized for colonial circulation, as opposed to metropolitan French issues. Struck in billon, a low-silver alloy typically containing roughly 20-30% silver mixed with copper, the Sou Marque measured approximately 24mm in diameter and weighed between 2.0 and 2.5 grams. Billon was a practical choice for colonial coinage because it provided some intrinsic value from the silver content while remaining economical to produce in quantity. The alloy's composition could vary between mints and production runs, giving surviving examples a range of surface appearances from silvery-white to dark copper-brown depending on the silver content and subsequent environmental exposure. The Paris mint was one of over thirty French royal mints authorized to strike colonial coinage during the eighteenth century. French colonial coins from this era circulated alongside Spanish reales, British coppers, and various local tokens in the complex monetary landscape of colonial North America, where chronic coin shortages made any acceptable medium of exchange valuable.