Merchants were encouraged to accept the playing cards as payment with the promise that they would be exchanged for gold and silver coins when a fresh shipment arrived from France. To make it easier to identify the different values, the cards were cut into different shapes. And the backs were plain, which was ideal for writing a value and for officials, including the Intendant, the Governor and the Controller of the Marine, to sign their names. Rather, playing cards back then were rigid, made of stiffer cardstock and perfect for the rigours of circulation. Why use playing cards? It had nothing to do with the value or the suit a jack of hearts was not worth more than a 3 of spades. In Canada, playing cards were used as form of emergency money at a time when the colony constantly suffered from a shortage of hard currency-that is, gold and silver coins.ĭuring an acute coin shortage in 1685, the Intendant of New France, Jacques de Meulles (that’s the guy who oversaw the colony’s finances), resorted to issuing playing cards to pay the troops who were stationed throughout the colony safeguarding the fur trade. You’ve probably heard of sea shells being used as money, or perhaps elephant hair, cigarettes or nails.
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