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When Coins Laugh and Quarrel with One Another−A Trilogy
the noble Charles, carried out this clever reform. Gros: It’s clear that now dear Uncle Pfennig wants to have his say. He wants to make the matter “Germane and German” and at the same time do something to boost his legacy. Assistant Director: Gros tournois, let the Pfennig finish. I really have no idea what the background was to Charlemagne’s coin reform.
Gros: (ironically) Merci beaucoup, cher ami, and now you remind me. I would definitely have otherwise forgotten that I am worth twelve times more than you. Assistant Director: Before you start to bandy your insider knowledge about again: would one of you perhaps be kind enough to tell me at last what this coin reform was all about?
Gros: Well, fire away and tell us what was so great about Charlemagne and his extremely brilliant coin reform.
Augustalis: Well, as you certainly know, the Western Roman Empire came under pressure from the migration of peoples. Various Germanic kingdoms emerged on its territory: in Lombardy the empire of the Lombards, in Gaul the Merovingian empire, in north Africa the Vandals’ empire and many others as well. All these kingdoms adopted the Roman coin system. In particular the golden solidus continued to be minted, because...
Pfennig: Keep quiet, you groat of Tours, but for Charlemagne’s coin reform and me, you would never have existed even.
Assistant Director: Yes, because the Germanic kings wanted to be seen as the legitimate rulers and successors of the Roman Empire.
Pfennig: You see, my boy, there are still people who don’t let themselves be lulled to sleep by such gossips as you.
Stop having to fiddle around with the pfennigs, a big coin is needed! The gros tournois of the French king Saint Louis (12451270)
Location of mint: Tours Denomination: gros tournois Year of minting: 1266 Minting authority: Saint Louis Weight: 4.22 g Diameter: 26 mm Metal: silver
Although “the liberation of Jesus’ birthplace from the godless heathens” did not succeed for ever, something else, something permanent, was successful: the trade with Byzantium and the Ottoman Empire, which, as it gained strength, began to establish itself and−heathens or not−proved to be very lucrative for the Christian Occident. In the upper Italian city republics, but also in France, people began to feel the positive effects of Mediterranean trade on the domestic trade. It was only annoying that there was nothing but the pfennig or the denier, as the coin was called in France. And it was simply not an adequate coin when it was a case of taking into account the increased volume of trade in terms of money. After all, we do not pay for our new computer today with 5-franc pieces. The French king, Saint Louis, who as a crusader and a prisoner of the Arabs was released in return for an exorbitant ransom and was acquainted with the oriental monetary system, took the decisive step: he created the gros tournois, a coin worth 12 deniers. As often happens to good ideas, Louis’s coin was quickly imitated. The upper Italian city republics followed with the grosso, the German-speaking regions with the groschen and England with the groat.