Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Carolingian denarius (Denier) The Carolingian monetary system, also called the Carolingian coinage system [1] or just the Carolingian system, [2] was a currency structure introduced by Charlemagne in the late 8th century as part of a major reform, the effects of which subsequently dominated much of Europe, including Britain, for centuries.
The basic features of this monetary system, which was based on the Carolingian pound, continued to exist in England until 1971. Initially, the Carolingian pound was valid across the whole of the Carolingian Empire and, to a lesser extent, in the Holy Roman Empire under the Ottonian dynasty that followed.
The term originates from libra, the largest unit of the Carolingian monetary system used in Western Europe and elsewhere from the 8th to the 20th century. [5] In 1999, the euro became Italy's unit of account and the lira became a national subunit of the euro at a rate of 1 euro = 1,936.27 lire, before being replaced as cash in 2002.
The introduction of the new monetary system with broadly unified coinage types (novi denarii) in the Frankish realm was decreed at the Council of Frankfurt in 794. [3] On this coinage type, the relevant mint is named on the reverse inscription - in the case of the Aachen penny found in 2007, the inscription is METVLLO.
Roman currency names survive today in many countries via the Carolingian monetary system, such as the dinar (from the denarius coin), the British pound (a translation of the Roman libra, a unit of weight), the peso (also a translation of libra), and the words for the general concept of money in the Iberian Romance languages (e.g. Spanish dinero ...
The lira (plural lire) was the distinct currency of Venice until 1848, when it was replaced by the Italian lira.It originated from the Carolingian monetary system used in much of Western Europe since the 8th century CE, with the lira subdivided into 20 soldi, each of 12 denari.
In Western Europe, the solidus was the main gold coin of commerce from late Roman times to Pepin the Short's currency reform in the 750s, which introduced the silver-based pound-shilling-penny system. In Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, the solidus also functioned as a unit of weight equal to 1 ⁄ 72 Roman pound (approximately 4.5 grams).
The new coinage and accounting system was imposed uniformly across the vast Carolingian Empire and also infiltrated countries on its periphery. In the late 8th century, King Offa of Mercia imported the system into Britain to facilitate transactions (notably "Peter's pence") with the Roman Catholic Church (which used the Carolingian coinage system).