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Carolingian monetary system
The Carolingian monetary system, also called the Carolingian coinage system or just the Carolingian system, 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. 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 Frankish 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 grams.
The pfennig and its corresponding entity in other countries was the most important coin of the Middle Ages. 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 coinage system of the classical Roman Empire was originally based on the copper coin, the as (later made of bronze) and multiples of this such as denarius = 10 as, quinarius = 5 as, sestertius = 2½ as etc. The silver coin, the denarius, was thus quite common for a period, but Roman accounting was based on the sestertius. During the last centuries of the Empire, numerous changes were made to the coinage system (e.g., by Augustus in 24 AD, Caracalla in 215, Aurelian in 274, Diocletian in 293, Constantine the Great in 312, etc.). Emperor Diocletian introduced the gold coin, the solidus, with its system of 1 solidus = 10 argentii = 40 nummii = 200 radiates = 500 laureates = 1,000 denarii. Emperor Constantine introduced a modified solidus with a value equal to 72 solidi or one pound (libra) of pure gold, and a new accounting for it as 1 solidus = 2 scripula = 3+1⁄3 tremisses = 4 semisses = 18 miliarenses = 24 siliquae. Numerous other introductions of new coins and changes in their value meant that in the last days of the empire and the following centuries (the Migration Period) there was a confusion of different coins and associated weight and measure systems in circulation.
Charlemagne's father, Pippin the Younger, began the overhaul of these systems by closing the mints of the great magnates and prelates of the Empire and establishing minting rights as an exclusively royal privilege. However, there were still 22 schillings to the imperial pound, the extra 2 schillings going to the mintmaster and the Imperial Treasury, leaving 20 to be issued into circulation.
This subsequently gave Charlemagne the power to put an end to the currency confusion by introducing a new standardised system that was the most wide-ranging and long-lasting of all the reforms, but was part of a much broader standardisation intended to make the Empire more governable. He defined the Carolingian pound (libra) as a new unit of weight, significantly larger than the old Roman pound of 328.9 g. He introduced a new silver coin called the denarius, of which 240 made up 1 pound of pure silver. A denar or denier thus contained 1.7 g of silver. To facilitate the handling of monetary calculations, he also introduced a unit of account, the solidus, so that 1 solidus = 12 denarii. Thus began the characteristic tripartite accountancy system (L 1 = 20s = 240d).
From AD 771, the new coinage system was introduced throughout the Frankish Realm and the future Carolingan Empire, which would extent across modern France, the Benelux, and most of Germany and Italy. The majority of denar coins of this period had a standard design with, on one side, the name of the King of the Franks on two lines thus: C A R o / L U S. On the other side gave the location of the mint, for example, for Liège: L E o / D I C o.
In around 793 or 794, the Carolingian pound, or Karlspfund (Latin: ponus Caroli), was introduced as the basis of the system of weights and coinage in the Realm. At some point Charlemagne scrapped the old 22 schilling system and the Treasury and mintmasters were now paid from taxes. Thus 1 Pfund generated 20 schillings, each worth 12 denarii. In 794 a decree was issued that the novi denarii were to be used and accepted throughout the Frankish Realm; they would be of pure silver and display Charlemagne's name on them. So on one side was the inscription CARLVS REX FR ("Charles, King of the Franks") and, on the other, as before, the place where the mint was located, e.g. DORESTADO ("Dorestad"). There were around sixty mints.
Carolingian monetary system
The Carolingian monetary system, also called the Carolingian coinage system or just the Carolingian system, 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. 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 Frankish 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 grams.
The pfennig and its corresponding entity in other countries was the most important coin of the Middle Ages. 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 coinage system of the classical Roman Empire was originally based on the copper coin, the as (later made of bronze) and multiples of this such as denarius = 10 as, quinarius = 5 as, sestertius = 2½ as etc. The silver coin, the denarius, was thus quite common for a period, but Roman accounting was based on the sestertius. During the last centuries of the Empire, numerous changes were made to the coinage system (e.g., by Augustus in 24 AD, Caracalla in 215, Aurelian in 274, Diocletian in 293, Constantine the Great in 312, etc.). Emperor Diocletian introduced the gold coin, the solidus, with its system of 1 solidus = 10 argentii = 40 nummii = 200 radiates = 500 laureates = 1,000 denarii. Emperor Constantine introduced a modified solidus with a value equal to 72 solidi or one pound (libra) of pure gold, and a new accounting for it as 1 solidus = 2 scripula = 3+1⁄3 tremisses = 4 semisses = 18 miliarenses = 24 siliquae. Numerous other introductions of new coins and changes in their value meant that in the last days of the empire and the following centuries (the Migration Period) there was a confusion of different coins and associated weight and measure systems in circulation.
Charlemagne's father, Pippin the Younger, began the overhaul of these systems by closing the mints of the great magnates and prelates of the Empire and establishing minting rights as an exclusively royal privilege. However, there were still 22 schillings to the imperial pound, the extra 2 schillings going to the mintmaster and the Imperial Treasury, leaving 20 to be issued into circulation.
This subsequently gave Charlemagne the power to put an end to the currency confusion by introducing a new standardised system that was the most wide-ranging and long-lasting of all the reforms, but was part of a much broader standardisation intended to make the Empire more governable. He defined the Carolingian pound (libra) as a new unit of weight, significantly larger than the old Roman pound of 328.9 g. He introduced a new silver coin called the denarius, of which 240 made up 1 pound of pure silver. A denar or denier thus contained 1.7 g of silver. To facilitate the handling of monetary calculations, he also introduced a unit of account, the solidus, so that 1 solidus = 12 denarii. Thus began the characteristic tripartite accountancy system (L 1 = 20s = 240d).
From AD 771, the new coinage system was introduced throughout the Frankish Realm and the future Carolingan Empire, which would extent across modern France, the Benelux, and most of Germany and Italy. The majority of denar coins of this period had a standard design with, on one side, the name of the King of the Franks on two lines thus: C A R o / L U S. On the other side gave the location of the mint, for example, for Liège: L E o / D I C o.
In around 793 or 794, the Carolingian pound, or Karlspfund (Latin: ponus Caroli), was introduced as the basis of the system of weights and coinage in the Realm. At some point Charlemagne scrapped the old 22 schilling system and the Treasury and mintmasters were now paid from taxes. Thus 1 Pfund generated 20 schillings, each worth 12 denarii. In 794 a decree was issued that the novi denarii were to be used and accepted throughout the Frankish Realm; they would be of pure silver and display Charlemagne's name on them. So on one side was the inscription CARLVS REX FR ("Charles, King of the Franks") and, on the other, as before, the place where the mint was located, e.g. DORESTADO ("Dorestad"). There were around sixty mints.
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