Post by Zillah on Mar 28, 2016 15:48:31 GMT -6
Britain’s first coinage appeared in the pre-Roman Iron Age to facilitate trade, and save for the so-called “dark ages” between the withdrawal of Roman authority and the emergence of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, there has always been a well-maintained money supply. During the Anglo-Saxon suzerainty, reissuing of the coins took place every seven years, ensuring the quality and value of the currency as well as the kings’ control of the monetary system. The kings only allowed the use of local currency, but for a fee it was possible to re-mint foreign coins for local use. At first, the Normans followed the same practice of scheduled re-minting, but found the system too cumbersome and have now shifted to an ongoing re-minting that is simpler to operate, albeit open to abuse. Coins can be “clipped,” removing a part of each that, while only a small portion of individual coins, can amount to a substantial sum for minting into additional coins or otherwise exploited. The king eventually introduces measures to discourage this practice, but they do not come into use for another dozen years.
At present, only one coin is in common circulation — the silver penny — though larger and smaller units of currency exist. The coins are extremely thin and can easily be cut or folded until they break in half (to form “half-pennies”) or into quarters (farthings). Twelve pennies make a shilling and twenty shillings make a pound, which should — assuming pure coins — be the same weight as a pound of silver; thus it is common practice to weigh rather than count large sums. An intermediary value, the mark, worth two-thirds of a pound, is also in common usage when counting large sums. Both pennies and pounds have their origins in Roman coins, the denarius and librum respectively, leading to the common abbreviations “d” (for penny) and “£” (for pound), while “s” denotes shilling. Prices are usually quoted in the form £/s/d, so £2 13s 4d is 2 pounds, 13 shillings and fourpence