Pistole

Colonists could not mint their own coins, so foreign gold and silver did the work. The pistole was a primary medium of exchange in early 1700s Virginia, and the name was sometimes also used for the French louis d'or. By the middle of the century it was worth almost a pound.

In 1752 Lieutenant Governor Robert Dinwiddie, with his Council's consent, set a fee of one pistole for sealing each land patent. The House of Burgesses fought the charge in 1753 and 1754, and the quarrel became known as the pistole fee dispute.