Paper Money - Of All Sorts

Posted by Susanna McLeod Jun 8, 2008

Working as a cashier, I handle a lot of Canadian money each day. The colours are the immediate way to distinguish the bills, a quick check of the numerals and change is made. When handed a paper bill from the United States, I have to be much more careful, checking the numeral only, since all of their money is printed in the same green hues. Have some of this “Monopoly Money,” they say of ours. It’s all good currency and nearly at par now, too. But in the explorer days of the New World, the money system wasn’t quite so established in North America.

Jacques de Muelles from France, notes Canadian Facts and Dates by RW Pound, and On This Day, issued playing cards as currency to his soldiers in Canada on June 8, 1685. Cards were given values and signed by Muelles. The men used the cards as cash until the annual supply of monies arrived by ship from France. At that time, Muelles only a few months later withdrew the cards on September 5th. It was not the last of the cards as cash, though.

Playing cards were issued again during coin shortages. The cards were used whole or cut into pieces of two or four. When inflation began to take hold in 1714, the playing card currency lost half of its value. In 1718, the cards were redeemed for cash and were banned in 1720 when New France coins were issued. The playing cards were still used commonly for 30 more years.

Hmm – I think we all might have quite a stash of loot if those cards were to come back into the money market.