A copper coin of almost no value. The word is probably derived from the Fr. sou. A marked or defaced sou would be commercially worthless.
1826. Who the d——l would give a sumarkee to read the newspapers after breakfast?—Mass. Spy, July 5: from the Louisiana Advertiser.
1839. [He said] I was not worth the tenth part of a sous-marquee, or ten scales of a red herring.—R. M. Bird, ‘Robin Day’ i. 29 (Phila.).
1855. It’s all clear gain, for the deacon ’ll save every soomarkee on’t for the children.—C. W. Philleo, ‘Twice Married,’ Putnam’s Mag., v. 410/1 (April).
