Fifteen Sols

About This Coin

Occupying a distinctive position in the French colonial monetary hierarchy as a mid-range silver denomination equivalent to three-quarters of a livre, the fifteen sols coin served commerce across France's colonial territories in North America and the Caribbean. This denomination filled an important gap between the smaller copper pieces (six and twelve deniers) used for petty transactions and the larger silver coins (twenty sols and multiples) reserved for more significant payments. In the French system where twenty sols equaled one livre, the fifteen sols piece represented a substantial but accessible silver coin suitable for moderately priced goods and services — meals at colonial inns, basic tools, cloth by the yard, and similar everyday purchases that required more than copper but less than a full livre. These coins were struck at French royal mints and shipped to the colonies, where they circulated through the diverse economies of New France: the fur-trading networks of the Great Lakes and Mississippi Valley, the agricultural communities of the St. Lawrence, the fishing stations of Acadia, and the sugar plantations of the Caribbean. Within the French Colonies (1670-1767) series, fifteen sols coins attract collectors who appreciate the nuanced denominational structure of French colonial coinage and the way each denomination reflects a specific tier of colonial economic activity, from the humble denier through the substantial ecu.