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Pictured above, is a French 1739-A sou marque piece graded MS 64 by PCGS, and with a CAC sticker affixed. It originated from the Paris Mint, as evidenced by its "A" mint mark. The obverse features a crowned L surrounded by three fleurs-de-lys. The abbreviated Latin legend translates into: Louis XV By The Grace Of God King Of France And Navarre. At the bottom of the coin is a privy mark, in the form of an animal, identifying the mint's director. The reverse displays crowned flowery Ls with peripheral Latin verbiage meaning: Blessed Be The Name Of The Lord; (and clockwise) a privy mark peculiar to the mint's chief engraver, followed by the date. 1739 is the most common date in the series.
The coin was produced pursuant to an edict (Aret) of Louis XV, and was intended for circulation both in France, and as an official French domestic export to its colonies, principally to Nouvelle (New) France - i.e. French Canada. The sous marques, which were sometimes called double sous, were created to meet a chronic need for small change in commerce, and to thwart the influx of devalued Dutch coins into France. They were minted from 1738 to 1764, and were valued at 24 deniers. At their inception, these pieces were struck at all 30 French mints. By 1852 however, production was confined to just two mints, that of Paris and Strasbourg. Although production continued through 1764, no sous marques were exported to the French colonies after 1760. The reason for this is that in 1760, Montreal fell during the French and Indian War. French Canada was officially ceded to the British in 1763, pursuant to the Treaty of Paris. Ultimately, many sous marques ended up in Louisiana and the West Indies. Counterfeit specimens are abundant. The much rarer half sous marques were minted from 1738 to 1748.
Beginning in 1640, France began minting a series of "billon" issues, the last of which was the sous marques. Generically, a billon coin is defined as one that is composed of less than 50% silver, with the other major component usually being copper.
French kings implemented a strategy of replacing coin designs frequently to take advantage of seignorage - that is, making a profit from coin production by the spread between the cost of creating a coin, and its denominational value. By progressively using less silver in coins over time, this profitability was accentuated. The sous marques billon pieces generally contained between 20 to 25 percent silver. Over time, some of the smaller French mints further "fudged" the percentage of silver, substituting extra copper instead. At the extreme, some thin copper planchets were merely coated in a bath of silver. When billon coins were minted, they were frequently subjected to an acid wash that dissolved the surface copper, and gave them a more pleasing silvery appearance. Over time however, the coins tended to acquire an unsightly blackening. The French called these deteriorated pieces "noirs", while the English called them "black doggs".
Billon sous marques circulated more prevalently in the French colonies than in the home country. Even though their silver content was watered down, the colonists much preferred them to the pure copper alternatives.
Eventually the sous marques were recalled, and either melted down to retrieve their silver content, or counter-stamped for further use in the Caribbean
Islands.