1670-A 5 Sols. Paris Mint. Martin 1-A, Lecompte-186, Hodder-3, W-11605. Rarity-4 (for the type). VF-35 (PCGS).This is a pleasing example with dominant pearl gray patina and charcoal-russet peripheral highlights. The strike is nicely centered on the planchet, and the impression is overall bold with the only mentionable softness of detail in the centers, where a few light planchet roller marks are evident. Smooth in hand with strong visual appeal at the Choice VF level, this scarce and intriguing 5 sols is sure to catch the eye of advanced collectors. The French Colonial Gloriam Regni issues of 1670, which derive their name from the Latin legend on the reverse, owe their existence to the efforts of Jean Baptiste Colbert. Succeeding Cardinal Jules Mazarin as Controller of France in 1661, Colbert obtained letters patent from the French crown in May of 1664 to establish the Compagnie des Indes Occidentales. The French West India Company, as it was also known, received a 40-year monopoly over trade in North America, parts of South America, and even parts of Africa. As was also the case in the British American possessions, there was a shortage of hard currency to facilitate this trade, and most transactions were carried out through the barter system. Even before the establishment of Colberts Compagnie, proposals were made for the French crown to authorize coinage for circulation in Canada. The proposals of 1663 and 1665, however, were both unsuccessful and resulted in no coins being produced. Using his considerable influence with King Louis XIV in his capacity as Controller, Colbert was successful in having a decree issued on February 19, 1670, for a special coinage to be minted under royal authority for use in the territories controlled by the French West India Company. This decree, and a modifying one dated March 24, 1670, authorized mintages for three different denominations: 40,000 examples of the silver 15 sols; 200,000 examples of the silver 5 sols; and 2,400,000 examples of the copper double. Coinage began on July 7, 1670, at the Paris Mint and continued through September 9, by which time 41,569 and 202,453 pieces were struck for the 15 sols and 5 sols, respectively. Only a single copper double is known to exist, and it is believed that only a few examples of that denomination were struck due to problems encountered in the die preparation process. The dies for the silver denominations are attributed to Jean Warin, engraver of the mint. The obverse of both types exhibits a portrait of King Louis XIV surrounded by a legend that proclaims Louis, by grace of God, the king of France and Navarre. On the reverse, a crowned royal French shield is surrounded by the Latin legend GLORIAM REGNI TVI DICENT, which translates as "They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom." The date 1670 appears at the upper left, the mintmark A for the Paris Mint is at the lower border, and the small castle, or rook <em>different</em> is at the upper border. High quality planchets of 0.91667 fine silver were used for both denominations. The coins were delivered to the Compagnie des Indes Occidentales on September 13, 1670, after which the dies were destroyed. Almost from the start the Gloriam Regni coins failed in their intended purpose. For starters, the authorizing decrees forbid the coins being repatriated to France. To encourage their use in the colonies nonetheless, Colbert and others hit upon a solution to increase the value of the Gloriam Regni coins by 33 1/3 percent. Thus, the 5 sols was revalued to 6 sols, 8 deniers and the 15 sols was revalued to 20 sols, or 1 livre. Even this expedient failed, however, as merchants in the British and Spanish colonies, and elsewhere, valued the coins based solely on their precious metal content without regard for their nominal value as stated by the French government. Few examples ever reached Canada, as a result, and most of those that did see circulation in other French colonies such as those in the West Indies were melted once they found their way into the hands of foreign merchants. In the end, the economy of New France continued to function on the barter system, the short-lived Gloriam Regni coins having no lasting influence. With most examples destroyed through melting, the silver Gloriam Regni coins are scarce to rare at all levels of preservation. Produced in limited numbers, the 15 sols is a legendary rarity with only 14 examples positively confirmed to exist as of our March 2015 offering of the Donald Groves Partrick-Henry P. Kendall Foundation specimen. With the copper double unique, the 5 sols is the only readily collectable Gloriam Regni issue as far as most collectors are concerned. In an absolute sense, however, the 5 sols is scarce with a Rarity-4 ranking for the type as a whole. Each of the 21 known die marriages merits at least a Rarity-7 rating per Sydney F. Martin in his highly detailed work <em>French Coinage Specifically for Colonial America</em> (2015). The coin offered here is from the Martin 1-A pairing, the finest example of which known to Martin is an AU-58 in the collection of Michael Joffre.
