The "bit" was a fractional unit derived from the Spanish real, widely used across the French Caribbean when Spanish silver dominated everyday trade far more effectively than anything Paris could supply. Martinique's colonial economy ran largely on this informal currency ecosystem, and the 1764 issue reflects France's attempt to impose some administrative order on circulation without disrupting commerce entirely.
KM#7 is among the scarcer French colonial silver issues of the eighteenth century. Surviving examples in any grade are infrequently encountered at auction.
The "bit" was a fractional unit derived from the Spanish real, widely used across the French Caribbean when Spanish silver dominated everyday trade far more effectively than anything Paris could supply. Martinique's colonial economy ran largely on this informal currency ecosystem, and the 1764 issue reflects France's attempt to impose some administrative order on circulation without disrupting commerce entirely.
KM#7 is among the scarcer French colonial silver issues of the eighteenth century. Surviving examples in any grade are infrequently encountered at auction.