Canada / New France. 1759 3 Livres Ordonnance. Serial #57966. Pick S-112. PCGS Currency VG-10 Details. Damage, Mounted on Cardstock.

3 7/8 x 5 7/8 inches. Printed domicile Quebec crossed out in ink, manuscript "Montreal" above. Signed by Francoise Bigot as Intendant. An incredible historical document, issued in 1759 after the fall of Quebec on September 13, 1759. Despite some losses at left margin, mostly in the top two-thirds, and some internal tears across "Depense generales," this is a remarkably intact and wholesome note. The date is affected by a tear, though still visible as 6th December 1759. Mounted on cardstock, but no visible glue stains or other issues. We last offered a similar 1759 Montreal over Quebec Ordonnonce in our Kendall Foundation sale of March 2015, where we described it, in part, as follows: "This bill, payable two months hence, was emitted two months after British General Wolfe captured Quebec that forced the New France government to remove itself from Montreal. "The Treasury Notes were issued against the general appropriations for expenditures allowed for Canada by the Minister of Marine and Colonies in France. The forms were printed in Paris and shipped to Canada to be issued by the Indendant (Civil Governor) in Quebec or Montreal. The part-printed forms were hand accomplished with dates, signatures and denominations from as high as 1,000 Livres to as low as 20 Sols. The majority would have been emitted in denominations such as this 6 Livres bill, a tradable sum when endorsed over to someone in commerce. The large denominations would have been stores of value in large trades and the small notes to make change. "On January 19, 1759 , the new French Minister of Marine and Colonies Nicholas-Rene Berryer wrote to Governor Bigot, signer of this note, saying 'You will see by the printed blanks I transmit to you this year, that whatever opinion I must place in you, are the reasons which determine me thereto…I may declare to you, nonetheless, that this practice is contrary to all the laws of the Kingdom, for, by such operation, the Indendant alone become, without expressly authorized thereto, the issuer of a money which circulates in the colony without the King's permission, and you must be aware of the consequences thereof.' Berreyer wielded much power and was recently head of the secret police for Louis and was a protégé of Madame de Pompadour. Accounts from the period recount by Adam Shortt cite him as "hard, arrogant, and boorish…" "Despite the British occupation, Bigot continued to issue notes into 1760. On October 15,1760, the Crown suspending paying these notes. The earlier notes from 1757-1758 would be paid, but those dated 1759 became 18 month promissory bills. The notes were made difficult to redeem by authorities in a "Gallic" manner, in short windows of opportunity and odd locations. This was a hardship on the holders of these notes. Card Money in use at the time was payable on demand though. These were important notes and their great rarity indicates that most were ultimately redeemed or lost to the ravages of wars and time." That note, serial number 50153, brought $12,925. This one, in somewhat lower grade, brought $6,325 in the 2016 Nicolet Seminary auction the following year, the highest realization of the five Ordonnance notes (and one very tiny fragment) sold from the Nicolet Collection. Representing the very end of New France, and the last of its economic issues, this late 1759 Ordonnance occupies a very significant historic moment and will be a centerpiece in its next collection.

From the Sydney F. Martin Collection. Earlier ex the collection formed by the Seminary of Nicolet; MTM International's Seminary of Nicolet Coin Auction, May 2016, lot 21.