ABSTRACT
John Law’s experiment set back the development of money, other than coin, in France. The story of the country’s experiments in public finance is told by one of its great practitioners, the Finance Minister, Jacques Necker (Necker 1786; see also Bailly 1830). In the period before the Revolution the French unit of currency was the livre, divided into 20 sols or sous, each of 12 deniers. This was the same Carolingian system operating in England but the more rapid decline of the French currency meant that the UK pound was worth about 24 French livres. The major circulating coins were the gold louis, worth 24 livres (together with the double louis and half louis) and the silver ecu of three livres. There were smaller silver coins of 24, 12 and 6 sols; and for small change copper sols, halves (6 deniers) and quarters (liards, of 3 deniers).
