Composition : 92,5% silver, 7,5% copper and has gold-plated edges
Mintage : 8,714

When coins were made of paper

During the 17th and 18th centuries, New France faced chronic shortages. The colony was months away from the motherland, isolated for months by winter ice and the treacherous Atlantic Ocean that claimed countless sailing ships. Everything was scarce - including coins.

Still, merchants, civil servants and soldiers had to be paid. In a desperate move to keep daily transactions flowing, the governor began issuing playing cards with a written promise to pay what was owed when the next shipment of coins arrived from France. Historic records show that cardswere cut into halves or quarters and had their corners clipped to reflect different values.

"Playing card money" was first issued in1685. Despite the king.s displeasure, authorities continued to implement this temporary measure whenever their colony faced a coin shortage. In 1729, they began using plain card stock which circulated like modern bank notes until New France fell to the British in 1759.

Counterfeiting was always [...] Athena or Joan of Arc. The inscription on the back of the card suggests the Queen of Spades was valued at one hundred livres.

This coin is the second issue of the Playing Card Money series.
The first coin of the series, released in 2008, depicts the Jack of hearts.
The second coin of the series, released in 2008, depicts the Queen of spades.
The third coin of the series, released in 2009, depicts theTen of spades.
The fourth coin of the series, released in 2009, depicts the King of hearts.

A set containing the four coins of the Playing Card Money seriesin a single case is also available.
 

PLAYING CARD MONEY - QUEEN OF SPADES - 2008 CANADIAN COINS 02 is categorised COINS AND PAPER MONEY / 08- ROYAL CANADIAN MINT / 15- ART & CULTURE and sold by l'Imaginaire, a store and specialised website.