diff --git a/piker/clearing/_paper_engine.py b/piker/clearing/_paper_engine.py
index e303d76c..068697fc 100644
--- a/piker/clearing/_paper_engine.py
+++ b/piker/clearing/_paper_engine.py
@@ -510,7 +510,7 @@ async def handle_order_requests(
                 reqid = await client.submit_limit(
                     oid=order.oid,
                     symbol=f'{order.symbol}.{client.broker}',
-                    price=order.price,
+                    price=float(order.price),
                     action=order.action,
                     size=order.size,
                     # XXX: by default 0 tells ``ib_insync`` methods that