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The Reign of Terror, associated with the French Revolution, lasted from 1792 to 1794. This was a period of great instability and danger for France's traditional aristocracy and their sympathizers. Over 17,000 were executed, with many others dying in prison. Many sought an exit plan: to flee France to a safer haven abroad. To that end, in 1792 an enterprising Frenchman, Pierre (Peter) Chassanis formed a corporation, La Compagnie de New York, secured French and Swiss financing, and traveled to America in search of land for the colony he envisioned. Chassanis was able to acquire 630,000 acres along the watershed of the Beaver River, in upper state New York, close to the eastern shore of Lake Ontario. The intent was to subdivided this tract into 4,000 50 acre farms. The settlement, to be known as Castorland (Castor means beaver in French) was to be governed pursuant to a constitution, with Chassanis as its leader, and with six commissaries, (2 based in Castorland, and four in Paris).
The Castorland jetons, more akin to medals than coins, were fashioned in silver as a form of compensation for directors attending organizational meetings held in Paris. These "tokens of presence" were designed and engraved by the prominent Pierre Simon Benjamin Duvivier, whose expertise in fashioning medals was recognized by French kings. The jetons, distributed in pairs of two, were struck at the Paris Mint in 1796, and display the engraver's initials "DUV" on their obverse. (Duvivier was also a shareholder in the venture.) It is estimated that 30 to 60 originals were produced in silver; 5 to 8 in copper with reeded edges; 2 in copper with plain edges; and 1 in brass. Many surviving examples exhibit appreciable wear.
The Paris Mint retained the original dies, and over the years has produced many restrikes. These restrikes are identifiable as to the date when struck by: edge wording such as cuivre for copper, oro for gold, and argent for silver; and by symbols (privy marks) peculiar to the respective mint directors.
The Castorland medal pictured above is a restrike from original dies dated 1796, and graded MS 65 BN by PCGS. Its obverse features a female head, representative of the goddess Cybele, associated with fertility, the wilderness, and protectress of the people. Her traditional walled crown further bespeaks her role as protector from harm.
On the reverse, Ceres, the Roman goddess of grain and harvest, appears to the left of a draining maple tree. She holds a cornucopia in her right hand, and a drill for tapping maple syrup in her left. At her feet is a sickle and sheaf of wheat. A beaver occupies the exergue area. The Latin peripheral legend translates into: hail great mother of the crops. Bowers likens the jeton pieces to half dollar medals.They exhibit a medal-like orientation, with both sides aligned to 12 o'clock. A small hoard of 14 original pieces, and connected with one of the Castorland families, was discovered in the late 1800s.
The Castorland colony was destined for failure. Among the factors that contributed to its demise were: harsh winters; disease that decimated livestock; incompetent surveying; and even the stealing of company funds by an insider. Ultimately, Chassanis was removed from his position of leaderhip, the company was dissolved in 1814, and Swiss creditors seized all remaining assets.