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The Carolingian monetary system was the currency of the Carolingian Empire, and like the empire itself was established by Charlemagne.
Charlemagne's system was an imitation of that of the Eastern Roman Empire. It was based on the libra, or pound, which had two forms, the silver pound and the gold pound.[1] He standardized the system of money throughout his empire on the basis of a penny of 1.7 present-day grammes and a pound of 408 grammes.[2]
For the basis of his system of coinage, Charlemagne adopted the East Frank or Rhenish libra, which was one quarter again heavier than the Roman libra adopted by the Merovingians. His silver denarius weighed 32 Grain (unit)|Grains. Twelve silver denarii were equal to one solidus, while twenty solidi were equal to one libra, which weighed 7,680 Grains.[1]
The gold solidus was worth the same as forty denarii, or 106.6 Grains of silver. One third of a gold solidus was called the triens, or tremissis.[1]
Successors[edit]
The system of Charlemagne was the source and precursor of the principal currency systems of mediaeval Europe.[1]
Notes[edit]
Category:Currencies of Europe