Castorland "Jetons"

About This Coin

Designed by Pierre-Simon-Benjamin Duvivier, one of the most accomplished French medalists of the late 18th century, the Castorland Jetons are presentation tokens created for the Compagnie de New-York, a consortium of French aristocrats who purchased 210,000 acres along the Black River in Jefferson and Lewis Counties of northern New York with ambitions of establishing a utopian agricultural colony. Weighing 15 grams at 32 mm, these bronze pieces feature an obverse depicting Ceres, goddess of agriculture, with FRANCO-AMERICANA COLONIA, and a reverse showing a settlement map with SALVE MAGNA PARENS FRUGUM ("Hail, great mother of harvests"). The term "jeton" traditionally referred to reckoning counters, but here these pieces served as presentation tokens distributed to shareholders as tangible symbols of their investment. The colonial venture ultimately failed due to harsh winters, insufficient capital, and local conflicts, but Duvivier's elegant medals survived as enduring artifacts of Franco-American colonial ambition. Restrikes from the original dies were produced during the 19th century.