Re: [conculture] CHAT: con-this'n'that

[Lars Henrik Mathiesen <thorinn@diku.dk>]

From: Lars Henrik Mathiesen <thorinn@diku.dk>

> From: John Cowan <cowan@locke.ccil.org>
> Date: Sat, 15 May 1999 14:08:10 -0400 (EDT)

> The inch-pound measurement system and the pounds/shillings/pence currency
> have remained standard throughout Europe, though hopefully at least the
> former has been the subject of international standardization.

"Remained?" When did you say the timelines split in continental
Europe?

The only unit of weight, and thus of currency, that seems to have been
reasonably common to all jurisdictions during the early middle ages
was the ounce --- there used to be 12 uncia in a Roman pound (libra),
but these ounces were a bit larger (20 to 25 percent).

England kept using the pound of 12 ounces (pure silver) for money,
while Northern Europe used a "mark" of 8 ounces for that purpose. (For
some reason, a pound of something like 16 ounces was used for other
goods, both in England and on the Continent).

Originally, however, only pennies (pecuniae) were minted, larger
amounts were weighed off in bars or pieces of silver wire. Once the
rulers figured out how to debase the currency, however, larger units
began to be minted as well. But it turned out people had different
ideas what they ought to be.

Most places in Germany and around the Baltic will probably be using a
variant of the Hanseatic system, which also replaced the local systems
*here.* It goes one mark = 16 shilling, 1 shilling = 12 pennies, but
the pennies are already gone by the early 1800's. (There may be
half-shillings minted, though). Shillings are often minted from base
metal, and can only be used in the minting country.

On top of this system was the Thaler (dollar), a silver coin that was
normally minted at full metal value, and used in international trade.
If you debased your Thalers, noone would take them. In the 1800's the
gold standard system arose, and the national currencies were fixed
against each other, obsoleting the Thaler system.

Denmark actually ended up fixing the 'local' Thaler (daler) in gold,
since there used to be about 6 Danish marks to a daler, and people
were used to keeping accounts in it. There were about 9 Danish gold
dalers to one English gold-backed pound Sterling. The crown, which was
the unit chosen for decimal currency in the late 1800's, was 3 marks
before that.

France, of course, had the livre, divided into 20 sous, but I don't
know what they did for smaller units.

So, what was the standard again?

Lars Mathiesen (U of Copenhagen CS Dep) <thorinn@diku.dk> (Humour NOT marked)

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