4 ms·
Everyone used whatever currency was locally availible, with every merchant in border regions being very aware of conversion rates. Throughout history there was
by sandworm101 11mo ago
Everyone used whatever currency was locally availible, with every merchant in border regions being very aware of conversion rates. Throughout history there was also a cronic shortage of smaller-denomination cash, stuff for normal people to buy normal things. Today, we see "clipped" coins as evidence of forgery when in fact much of that was likely related to a lack of loose change. Nobody in town able to break a gold crown? Well, maybe you buy a horse with a slice of gold from that crown.
- IAmBroom 11mo agoClipping and dissecting a coin into smaller pieces for down-conversion are very different things. The piece of eight wasn't haphazardly cut, but instead pre-indented for breaking cleanly. If you want to buy something worth 6% of a gold coin, whacking off an edge of one is a weird way to do it. You'd need a scale handy.
- lisbbb 11mo agoThere had to be other mechanisms, nobody was clipping coins as part of any kind of honest commerce.