40 sols, and 4 livres ). citizens were advised that the notes would be redeemed as soon as funds arrived from france. partly because refusal to accept them as payment was punished with a fine, but mostly because they met a need, the cards circulated freely and were a great success. so much so that even though they were redeemed with french money later that year, more playing card money was issued the following year, and at various times thereafter. unlike coins, playing card money did not leave the colony, and in that respect, represented a clear improvement. the authorities in france, however, saw the idea as " extremely dangerous, nothing being easier to counterfeit than this sort of money. " 13 in fact, it wasn't long before a conviction for counterfeiting card money occurred. in 1690, pierre malidor, a " surgeon, " was sentenced to be " flogged on the naked shoulders by the king's executioner at the gate of the parish church of notre dame in this town [ i. e., quebec city ], and in the customary squares and places, in each of which he shall receive six lashes of the whip.... " poor mr. malidor was also fined, bonded into " compulsory service, " and banished from the city. 14 this shows that counterfeiting was perceived as a serious threat to the well - being of the colony – which it was. but in fact, it was that other enemy of sound money, inflation, that posed the greater threat to card money. by the early 1690s, soon after it had been introduced, excessive issuance of card money led to rising prices ( or, from another point of view, to diminishing the value of money ). the problem became so acute that, in 1717, card money was redeemed at 50 per the coin shortage " was not confined to canada – there was a shortage of coin in the british colonies, in britain, and in france itself. the shortage in france was as acute as in canada and economic conditions were worse. " mccullough, ibid, p. 34. j. k. galbraith, the age of uncertainty ( boston : houghton mifflin, 1977 ), p. 180. j. k. galbraith, ibid, p. 181. the first paper money was issued in china, circa 650 ad. a. shortt, documents relating to canadian currency,

, ottawa : forthcoming ). for perspective, a time line showing the history of money from prehistoric times to the present, with a focus on canada, can be seen at : http : / / www. bankofcanada. ca / currencymuseum / eng / learning / history _ flash. php. before european colonization, various items were used as money by native peoples in the northern part of this continent. along the west coast, for example, tusk - shaped dentalium shells were strung and used as money. the story of canada's currency. bank of canada : 1990, p. 4. j. powell, a history of the canadian dollar ( ottawa : bank of canada, 2005 ), p. 3. a. b. mccullough, money and exchange in canada to 1900 ( toronto : dundurn press, 1984 ), p. 29. france " coins. the premium was initially set at one - eighth in 1664, but was later increased to one third. 9 the second problem was that coins were often " clipped " and therefore underweight – which undermined confidence as to their worth. necessity being the mother of invention, promissory notes became popular. a promissory note is an iou. the note pledges that it can, at some specified date, be redeemed for goods or services or for conventional money [ image : promissory note ]. promissory notes have a special place in the history of money. they are an early example of a great and enduring invention – paper money – " the gift, " according to john kenneth galbraith, " of americans and canadians to the western world. " 10 in the late 17th century, the american colonies faced similar problems and came up with the same response : they issued promissory notes. while both the united states and canada were pioneers in developing paper money, the style of each country's first paper money was quite different. in the age of uncertainty, galbraith contrasted the " dull puritanical model of massachusetts " paper money with the " sparkling example " of new france 11 [ image : playing card money and massachusetts bay note ]. the " sparkling example " he was referring to was playing card money, an ingenious solution to a difficult problem, and believed to be the first paper money ever issued by a western government. 12 in 1685, intendant jacques de meulles issued three denominations of playing card money ( 15 sols,