Marianne Wants Her Change Trivia Quiz

Answer: Louis d'or (1726-1793)

The Louis d'or was a French gold coin first minted in 1640 for King Louis XIII and continued under his successors.The value fluctuated at first but in 1726 was set as equivalent to 20 livres and in 1740 reset as equal to 24 livres. After the French Revolution, the role of this coin was largely taken over by the 20 franc gold coin which was in nineteenth and twentieth centuries called a Napoleon after Emperor Napoleon I.

Answer: Ecu (1726-1793)

Many earlier coins were known as Ecu or Ecu d'argent. The word Ecu comes the Latin "Scutum" and refers to a shield. The word argent refers to the silver content of the coin. The Ecu of the eighteenth century was a silver coin that was equal in value to six livres. While the coins were replaced after the French Revolution, the 5 franc silver coins served a similar function.

Answer: Livre parisis (9th to 17th centuries)

The livre parisis (Paris pound) was divided into 20 sols parisis or 240 deniers parisis. What made it different from the livre tournosis (Tours pound) was that the livre parisis was equal to 25 sols tournasis. The livre parisis was a cornerstone of the French monetary system through the thirteenth century after which it was gradually superseded in coinage use by the livre tournosis.

It continued to be used in some official accounting records until it was abolished by Louis XIV in 1667.

Answer: Franc (beginning 1795)

The franc was part of a program to use a decimal standard for French coins. One franc was equal to 100 centimes. The franc was equivalent in value to one livre and 1 denier. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the franc was a silver coin. Due to inflation, in 1960 a new franc was issued that was equal to 100 old francs.

The franc would eventually be replaced as the currency of France by the Euro.

Answer: Livre tournois (13th to 18th centuries)

The livre tournois was divided into 20 sols tournois or 240 deniers tournois. It became increasingly important beginning in the 13th century as a replacement for the higher valued livre parisis (5 livres tournois were equal to 4 livres parisis.) Between the thirteenth and seventeenth century the livre tournois was sometimes called a franc which is why I indicated the later franc (after 1795) in the questions.

The first French paper money in the early 1700s were denominated in livres tournois.

Answer: Testoon (16th century)

The testoon was a silver coin issued by France during the 16th century. (A similar was issued by England during the 16th century that would eventually evolve into the shilling.) The testoon was equal to roughly 10 sous or half of livre. Half testoon coins were also minted.

Answer: Sou

The sou was also sometimes called a douzain because it was equal in value to a dozen deniers. It was a silver coin. 20 sous were equal to a liver. It was part of the coinage system created by the Carolingian dynasty in the eighth century although sous would not be minted until somewhat later.

When France switched to a decimal currency in the late eighteenth century, the five centime coin was sometimes referred to as a sou.

Answer: Liard (17th to 18th centuries)

A French liard was a copper coin minted in the seventeenth century under Louis XIV. Four liards were equal to a sou and eighty liards were equal to a livre. The liard was the lowest value French coin minted in the eighteenth century.

Answer: Centime (beginning 1795)

The centime was a part of program to put French currency on a decimal system after the French Revolution. 100 centimes were equal to one franc. When the franc was revalued in 1960, one new centime was equal to one old franc. Since the franc was worth slightly more than one livre, one centime was equal to about 2.4 deniers, slightly less in value one liard.

Answer: Denier (8th to 18th centuries)

The denier was first produced during the Carolingian dynasty of the eight century AD. It was related to the Roman denarius in that both were small silver coins. There were 12 deniers in a sou and 240 deniers in a liver. Originally the denier was roughly equivalent in value to an English penny, but the former coin declined in relative value over the centuries.

The last coins valued in deniers (and minted by then in copper) for general circulation in France or the French colonies were minted in the eighteenth century.