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Currency in the middle ages was generally in the form of silver coins. The names of these coins varied depending on location. In medieval England, for example, the basic coin was the penny. Twelve pennies had the value of one shilling. Twenty shillings had the value of one pound. Shilling and pound coins did not exist, they were ways of counting but they were substantial amounts of money. English money was fairly valuable, so fractional pennies were used. At first this was simply a penny that had been cut in half or in quarters, but eventually half penny and quarter penny coins (the latter was called a farthing)were minted.

France had a similar system with different names. The denier was the French equivalent of the penny, and they had the same 12 and 20 count units, known as the sous (sometimes also the sol) and the livre. Because of the coin weight and the quality of the silver, the denier was closer to the value of the English farthing, and generally a penny exchanged for 3-4 denier. Similar systems existed in much of Europe.

Medieval money had no abstract value the way modern money does, it was valuable because of its precious metal content. As a result the purity of the silver and the exact weight of coins could vary, and the resulting value of the money would vary. Documents would often not only specify the amount of debts but also specifiy the location of the source of the coins it was to be paid in, i.e. 10 sous of Paris. 2 Livre of Chartres, etc.

Gold coins were also used occasionally. Gold was roughly 10 times the value of silver, and was used primarily for large value transactions, such as between merchants. Gold coins from the city of Florence were particularly desired for this as a trusted and stable currency for large values.

Silver was sometimes also measured in "marks" which was a measure of weight. It had the equivalent value of 2/3 of a pound of silver.

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12y ago
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14y ago

I wonder if they have the currency back then. I am guessing they used Barter system to exchange goods.

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Q: What currency did people use in the middle ages?
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