Inspired by the #LockdownBestiary, I have created my own abecedary. (For previous entries search Twitter: #MoneyAtoZ)
a=ancient economy
b=bitcoin
c=cowry shells
d is for….[dogs?] 1/x
a=ancient economy
b=bitcoin
c=cowry shells
d is for….[dogs?] 1/x
2) d is for penny, of course!
Before it was finally decimalised in 1971 (proposals had been repeated since 1850s), British money of account consisted of pounds, shillings, pence--abbreviated £ s d: 12d to the shilling, 20s to the £. After 15/2/1971, 6d=2.5 [decimal] pence!
Before it was finally decimalised in 1971 (proposals had been repeated since 1850s), British money of account consisted of pounds, shillings, pence--abbreviated £ s d: 12d to the shilling, 20s to the £. After 15/2/1971, 6d=2.5 [decimal] pence!
3) £ s d also the abbreviation for accounting units most widely used in France before 1789: livres (lit. “pounds”) tournois, sous, deniers (12d=1s; 20s=1£). N.B. in parts of the Kingdom, accounts were kept in Hainaut or Lorraine livres. No livre or denier coin existed, however.
4) French “denier” derives from Latin “denarius” (cf Spanish “dinero”) and I have always imagined “penny” to be effectively the same word. Consonants shift, so why not d→ p (with £sd as historical remnant)? But no!
5) We could get deep in weeds w “d is for denarius.” For nearly 500 years, it was standard silver coin of Rome (Republic + Empire). Sometimes heavier, sometimes mixed w copper. Here’s one found in Leicestershire, minted centuries before Roman conquest bbc.co.uk/ahistoryofthew…
6) Here’s a denarius issued under Octavian. Emperor on one side, #crocodile on the other! @profrhodrilewis did a nice thread on crocodiles for #lockdownbestiary btw
artic.edu/artworks/14297…
artic.edu/artworks/14297…
7) Many other currency words derive from “denarius” including modern Italian “denaro.” The gold coins issued by medieval Umayyad Empire were called DINARS. Metal, value, regime, design changed; word did not. (The Caliphate’s silver coins, dirhams, share name w Greek drachma.)
8) Abd al-Malik, who made Arabic official admin language, built Dome of the Rock and Great Mosque of Damascus, issued first dinars (c. 691 AD). The “standing caliph” dinars were same weight & fineness of Byzantine coins, but Justinian II rejected them
9) Justinian II retaliated against "usurping" of Byzantine numismatic tradition by moving his own portrait to reverse of coin, putting Christ on the obverse (head’s) side. Try to top that! Shortly thereafter, Muslim coinage became purely epigraphical, aniconic
10) We have strayed far from pennies and deniers! In my #HistoryofMoney class we talk about Justinian's rejection of Abd al-Malik’s standing caliph dinar to understand that even in “Middle Ages,” metal and weight alone did not =value.
11) The last Roman denarii were issued in mid-200s AD, but accounts continued to be calculated w them. Some call this “ghost money,” but better term is “unit of account”—value calculated in units that themselves do not physically exist. Physical coins' exchange rate may fluctuate
12) Thanks to the #waroncash and current concerns about disease, the dollar may be on the way to becoming just such a ghost currency. #MoneyAtoZ D is for dollar, dinar, denomination, denarius. d is also for penny!
