Apes, jongleurs, and 13th century Paris.
From the simply wonderful Apes and Ape Lore in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance:
The connection between apes and money is illustrated further by the French expressions, fourni d’argent comme un singe de queue (to have no money at all) and payer en monnaie de singe (to pay with fine words and promises instead of ‘real’ money). The latter phrase is usually explained as the reflection of a Parisian thirteenth century law which permitted jongleurs to cross the Petit Pont without paying the toll if they (or their animals) performed their tricks instead.
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