Coinage and the Tyranny of Fantasy 'Gold'
31 points by baud147258 5 days ago | 7 comments
  • PaulHoule 5 days ago |
    Funny I read something to the effect that some people in Rome got paid a few pounds of gold a year which is about what people get paid today.
    • jsnell 3 days ago |
      If only this submission had a section exactly on how much various people in Rome were paid in gold-equivalents.

      Oh, well, guess we'll have to go with the unsourced and vague quote instead.

    • coffeebeqn 3 days ago |
      That sounds like a satisfying if potentially dangerous payday
  • Terr_ 5 days ago |
    Just a few lines in, and I can tell this should be complementary with Debt: The First 5,000 years by the late David Graeber. Much of the book is about deconstructing modern myths of how economies used to work and how they evolved over time.
    • unmole 2 days ago |
      Really? From what I remember, Graeber misinterprets the history and ideas of mainstream economics, calls the safest securities on the planet a debt that will never be paid and spins bizarre conspiracy theories about the Iraq invasion.
  • rawgabbit 5 days ago |
    I find it interesting that a Charlemagne Franc at 3.75g is roughly equal to a Venetian Ducat and to a Florin at 3.5g.

    In the Middle East and much of Africa, a gold Dinar or Mithqal was 4.25g. In other words, the gold units for Europe, Africa, and the ME were roughly equal.

    Meanwhile in South Asia, the Tola was 11.6g or one third of a franc. While in East Asia, the Chinese Tael was 37.5g or ten times the franc.

    • bandrami 3 days ago |
      I find it fascinating how many cultures have a unit of length that is roughly a yard and a unit of weight that is roughly a pound. Then I read (I think on the linked site in fact) that these are military universals: one stride of a soldier in formation, and the weight of cereals needed to feed a soldier for one day.