What's 18 million livres?

Looks like a semi-tough one. After a very quick search I found this:

Google cache of EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY CURRENCIES AND EXCHANGE RATES

there it says this:



I hope someone who knows comes along and helps you more than I did.

1 franc=1livre

FXConverter - 164 Currency Converter Results
Wednesday, June 25, 2003
18000000 French Franc (FRF) = 2744100 Euro (EUR)
2744100 Euro = 3,159,282 US Dollar
2744100 US Dollar (USD) = 2,383,480 Euro (EUR)

You have selected a currency which was replaced by the Euro.

As well as the currency of a monarchy which was replaced by five republics and two empires . . .

I would say a whole lot of books.

I asked the question because I read that Marie Antoinette showed up at a bash with 18 million livres of diamonds around her neck. This wasn't long before she wore a blade around her neck.

I would find your information suspect--in the 1780's, the livre was roughly equivalent to four shillings. That sum would be 3,600,000 pounds sterling--more than the entire expenditure of the British Crown on the recent American War of Independence. In fact, the decision of Louis XVI's government to fire the finance minister was the proximate cause of the revolution--and this was sub rosa because of an allegation about the improper receipt of a necklace worth 2000 livres. It is entirely possible that what you've read is true, but it smells awfully fishy to me . . .

Obviously you are referring to the Diamond Necklace Affair, a scandal that took place at the court of King Louis XVI of France just before the French Revolution.
In the interview the cardinal was led to believe that the queen wished to acquire a diamond necklace of enormous value and that she had chosen him as her confidential agent.
The affair became public after Rohan failed to meet the payments on the Diamond Necklace. A vast literature has grown around the subject, notably Dumas's romance The Queen's Necklace and Carlyle's Diamond Necklace



About the money:

The 'livre' (from Latin: libra = scales) origianally was a weight, introduced by Charlemagne (491 g).
Louis VI introduced the Paris Livre (489 g).
The latter became the the daily money, one Livre = 240 derniers.

Since 1656 we find a silver coin "Lis d'argent", 1655/57 the golden "Lis d'or" was introduced.



The livre had been the French currency until the revolution. It was the currency in the [German] Saar-region from 1680 until 1697.