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.[3][4] It is characterised by having three denominations with values in the ratio 1:20:240, the units of which went under different names in the different languages, but which corresponded to the Latin terms libra (pound), solidus (shilling) and denarius (penny), respectively.
The currency reform carried out by Emperor Charlemagne around 793/794 was of crucial importance to the medieval monetary systems in what became the Holy Roman Empire and more generally affected European coinage for many centuries. Because gold could almost only be obtained through long-distance trade, while conversely there were quite a few silver deposits in Europe north of the Alps, Charlemagne introduced a pure silver currency. The basic weight of the coin became a pfund ("pound"), from which 240 pfennigs ("pennies") could be struck. This Carolingian pound weighed approximately 408 grammes.[5]
The pfennig and its corresponding entity in other countries was the most important coin of the Middle Ages.[5] The pfund or pound was already a unit of weight and within this system also became a currency unit. The schilling, like the pfund, was not minted for a long time, but used only as a unit of account worth 12 pfennigs.
^The later medieval and modern coinages of continental Europe Archived 2022-06-20 at the Wayback Machine at britannica.com. Retrieved 20 June 2022
^Allen (2004), p. 127.
^Helmut Kahnt, Bernd Knorr: Alte Maße, Münzen und Gewichte. Ein Lexikon. Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig 1986, Licensed to Mannheim, Vienna, Zurich 1987, ISBN 3-411-02148-9, p. 385.
^"fransk møntvæsen" Archived 2020-09-19 at the Wayback Machine ("French coinage") by Jensen, Jørgen Steen in Den Store Danske at lex.dk. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
^ abR. Leng, University of Würzburg: Münzreform Karls des Großen. 5. Gewichtspfund und Rechenpfund: "Ein karolingisches Pfund besaß ca. 408 gr."
and 20 Related for: Carolingian monetary system information
The Carolingianmonetarysystem, also called the Carolingian coinage system or just the Carolingiansystem, was a currency structure introduced by Charlemagne...
largest unit of the Carolingianmonetarysystem used in Western Europe and elsewhere from the 8th to the 20th century. The Carolingiansystem is the origin...
imitating the Roman system, including the solidus. Roman currency names survive today in many countries via the Carolingianmonetarysystem, such as the Arabic...
Roman currency names survive today in many countries via the Carolingianmonetarysystem, such as the dinar (from the denarius coin), the British pound...
features of this monetarysystem, which was based on the Carolingian pound, continued to exist in England until 1971. Initially, the Carolingian pound was valid...
demonetised. The pound sterling emerged after the adoption of the Carolingianmonetarysystem in England c. 800. Here is a summary of changes to its value...
territory in Southern Africa. At that time sterling followed the Carolingianmonetarysystem of a pound divided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence. The pound...
Britain. It was introduced by David I, in the 12th century, on the Carolingianmonetarysystem of a pound divided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence. The Scottish...
origins to the Carolingianmonetarysystem of the 8th century AD, and more specifically to the Livre Tournois, an offshoot of the same system which emerged...
rulers, Germany had a collection of currency systems loosely related to the Frankish Carolingianmonetarysystem with one pound (later Gulden) equal to 20...
appeared in the 8th century CE in adoption of Western Europe's Carolingianmonetarysystem wherein 12 pence made a shilling and 20 shillings made a pound...
1875. Prior to 1434 the Dutch issued currency conforming to the Carolingianmonetarysystem, with the Pound divided into 20 shillings and the shilling divided...
2002. The term originates from libra, the largest unit of the Carolingianmonetarysystem used in Western Europe and elsewhere from the 8th to the 20th...
2002. The term originates from libra, the largest unit of the Carolingianmonetarysystem used in Western Europe and elsewhere from the 8th to the 20th...
2002. The term originates from libra, the largest unit of the Carolingianmonetarysystem used in Western Europe and elsewhere from the 8th to the 20th...
from their Carolingian model. There was no longer any uniformity in weights and fineness as there had been in the Carolingianmonetarysystem. A pfennig...