French denier

History

Coin

Around 755, amid the Carolingian Reforms, Pepin the Short introduced a new currency system which was eventually adjusted so that 12 pence (; ) equaled one shilling (solidi; sols or sous) and 20 shillings equaled one pound (libra, librae, or lirae; livres). Later, three deniers equaled one liard. Only the denier was an actual coin; the rest were money of account. This system and the denier itself served as the model for many of Europe's currencies, including sterling, the Italian lira, the Spanish dinero and the Portuguese dinheiro.

Interest rates

In Ancien Régime France, the denier was used as a notional measure of interest rates on loans. Thus, a rate of 4% (1/25) would be expressed as "denier 25"; a rate of 5% (1/20) as "denier 20"; and so forth.

References

References

1. Peter Spufford. (21 September 1989). "Money and Its Use in Medieval Europe". Cambridge University Press.
2. "Denier | History and Culture of Cypriot Medieval Coins".
3. (1996). "A New Type of Anonymous Denier of Cyprus of the Early Thirteenth Century". The Numismatic Chronicle.
4. William W. Kibler. (January 1995). "Medieval France: An Encyclopedia". Psychology Press.
5. (2012). "Religione e istituzioni religiose nell'economia europea, 1000–1800: Religion and religious institutions in the European economy, 1000–1800". Firenze University Press.