Table of Values of European coins about 1800 - Revision history

LatinKing2020: upgraded images

2025-09-22T16:49:13Z

upgraded images

LatinKing2020: Text replacement - " .919 fine" to " 0.919 fine"

2024-04-03T19:53:26Z

Text replacement - " .919 fine" to " 0.919 fine"

LatinKing2020: Text replacement - " .903 fine" to " 0.903 fine"

2024-03-04T06:22:41Z

Text replacement - " .903 fine" to " 0.903 fine"

LatinKing2020: /* Third column */

2024-01-17T02:34:31Z

Third column

LatinKing2020 at 02:32, 17 January 2024

2024-01-17T02:32:59Z

LatinKing2020: Text replacement - " .900 fine" to " 0.900 fine"

2023-12-03T06:11:29Z

Text replacement - " .900 fine" to " 0.900 fine"

LatinKing2020: Text replacement - " .917 fine" to " 0.917 fine"

2023-08-27T05:55:28Z

Text replacement - " .917 fine" to " 0.917 fine"

LatinKing2020: Text replacement - " .917 fine gold" to " 0.917 fine gold"

2023-08-25T23:47:05Z

Text replacement - " .917 fine gold" to " 0.917 fine gold"

LatinKing2020: Text replacement - " .986 fine gold" to " 0.986 fine gold"

2023-08-17T00:44:14Z

Text replacement - " .986 fine gold" to " 0.986 fine gold"

LatinKing2020 at 18:47, 30 June 2023

2023-06-30T18:47:04Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:49, 22 September 2025
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−	[[Image:Coin scale instruction.jpg\|~~600px~~\|thumb\|Instructions from an old French coin scale]]	+	[[Image:Coin scale instruction r1.jpg\|700px\|thumb\|Instructions from an old French coin scale]]

	We know from our research of coin catalogs what was the face value of various coins and can calculate their theoretical exchange ratio from their bullion content. It is instructive to look at primary documents to see how merchants dealt with various coins that came across their counters. The first thing any merchant would have done to any coin he was not familiar with would be to weigh it, perhaps with a scale similar to the one shown here.		We know from our research of coin catalogs what was the face value of various coins and can calculate their theoretical exchange ratio from their bullion content. It is instructive to look at primary documents to see how merchants dealt with various coins that came across their counters. The first thing any merchant would have done to any coin he was not familiar with would be to weigh it, perhaps with a scale similar to the one shown here.

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 * ''Pistole de Pié[monte]'' 2 gros & 24 gra (the Sardinian ''[[Sardinia 1797 doppia Fr-1126|doppia,]]'' 9.116 g, .905 fine gold);
 * ''on[cia] de si[cilie]'' 2 gros & 22 gra (the gold ''[[Sicily 1742 oncia Fr-887|oncia]]'' of Sicily, 3.78 g, .996 fine gold);
-* ''Souver[ain] de Flan[dre]'' 2 gros & 60 gra (the ''[[Austrian-Netherlands 1796-B souverain d'or|souverain d'or]]'' of the Austrian Netherlands, now Belgium; 11.06 g, .919 fine gold).
+* ''Souver[ain] de Flan[dre]'' 2 gros & 60 gra (the ''[[Austrian-Netherlands 1796-B souverain d'or|souverain d'or]]'' of the Austrian Netherlands, now Belgium; 11.06 g, 0.919 fine gold).
 == Fourth column ==

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 * ''Piece de Parme'' 1 gros & 60 gra (perhaps a ''[[Parma 1797-S doppia Fr-930|doppia]]'' of the duchy of Parma, 7.14 g, .891 fine gold);
-* ''Piece de Prusse'' 1 gros & 54 gra (the Prussian ''[[Prussia 1799-A friedrichs d'or|friedrichs d'or]]'', 6.682 g, .903 fine gold);
+* ''Piece de Prusse'' 1 gros & 54 gra (the Prussian ''[[Prussia 1799-A friedrichs d'or|friedrichs d'or]]'', 6.682 g, 0.903 fine gold);
 * ''Portug.'' 1 gro & 54 gra (probably the Portuguese [[Portugal 1778 3200 reis|3200 réis]], 7.15 g, 0.917 fine gold);
 * ''Piece de Géne[ve]'' 6 gros & 39 gra (perhaps a Genevan ''[[Geneva 1755 pistole Fr-262|pistole]]'', rather light at 7.64 g, 0.900 fine gold);

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 * ''Ducat d'Hol[lande].'' 66 gra (the Dutch [[Holland 1780 ducat Fr-250|ducat]] of 3.5 g, 0.986 fine gold);
 * ''Ducat d'Aut[riche].'' 66 gra (the Austrian [[Austria 1780-G IB-IV ducat Fr-193|ducat]] of the same weight);
-* ''Sequin de Rom'' 2 gros & 60 gra (an Italian coin);
+* ''Sequin de Rom'' 2 gros & 60 gra (a ducat or zecchino of the Papal States);
 * ''Pistole de Pié[monte]'' 2 gros & 24 gra (the Sardinian ''[[Sardinia 1797 doppia Fr-1126|doppia,]]'' 9.116 g, .905 fine gold);
 * ''on[cia] de si[cilie]'' 2 gros & 22 gra (the gold ''[[Sicily 1742 oncia Fr-887|oncia]]'' of Sicily, 3.78 g, .996 fine gold);

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 [[Image:Coin scale instruction.jpg|600px|thumb|Instructions from an old French coin scale]]
-We know from our research of coin catalogs what the face value of various coins and can calculate from their theoretical exchange ratio from their bullion content. It is instructive to look at primary documents to see how merchants dealt with various coins that came across their counters. The first thing any merchant would have done to any coin he was not familiar with would be to weigh it, perhaps with a scale similar to the one shown here.
+We know from our research of coin catalogs what was the face value of various coins and can calculate their theoretical exchange ratio from their bullion content. It is instructive to look at primary documents to see how merchants dealt with various coins that came across their counters. The first thing any merchant would have done to any coin he was not familiar with would be to weigh it, perhaps with a scale similar to the one shown here.
 This scale is labeled in French so we assume that it was used there. The label is headed, <blockquote>"''Table des Monnaies d'Or qui ont cours dans les different Etats de l'Europe, avec la designation de leurs poids.'' (Table of gold coins current in the different countries of Europe with the designation of their weights.)"</blockquote> Four columns are shown, each labeled in "''gro''" (Gros) and "''gra''" (Grains). Altho the metric system was in legal force in France at this time, it doesn't seem to have penetrated to this merchant's counting offices. We will attempt to calculate the size of these obsolete units below.

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 * ''Ecus de 5 liv[res tournois] de France'' 7½ gros & 12 gra (this is the ''[[France 1790-A ecu|écu aux branches d'olivier]]'' struck 1726-92 of 29.48 g, 0.917 fine silver);
-* ''Piece de 5 fr[ancs] de France'' 6½ gros & 6 gra (this is the [[France L'AN 7-L 5 francs|"Hercules" five francs]] struck years 4-11 of the revolutionary calendar. It weighed 25 g, .900 fine silver);
+* ''Piece de 5 fr[ancs] de France'' 6½ gros & 6 gra (this is the [[France L'AN 7-L 5 francs|"Hercules" five francs]] struck years 4-11 of the revolutionary calendar. It weighed 25 g, 0.900 fine silver);
 * ''Guinée d'Ang[leterre]'' 2 gros & 12 gra (the [[Great Britain 1794 guinea|English guinea]] of 8.35 g, 0.917 fine gold);
 * ''Quadru[ple] d'Espag[ne]'' 7 gros & 3 gra (probably the Spanish [[Spain 1788-S C 8 escudos|doubloon or eight escudos]] of 27.07 g, .875 fine gold).
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 * ''Piece de Prusse'' 1 gros & 54 gra (the Prussian ''[[Prussia 1799-A friedrichs d'or|friedrichs d'or]]'', 6.682 g, .903 fine gold);
 * ''Portug.'' 1 gro & 54 gra (probably the Portuguese [[Portugal 1778 3200 reis|3200 réis]], 7.15 g, 0.917 fine gold);
-* ''Piece de Géne[ve]'' 6 gros & 39 gra (perhaps a Genevan ''[[Geneva 1755 pistole Fr-262|pistole]]'', rather light at 7.64 g, .900 fine gold);
+* ''Piece de Géne[ve]'' 6 gros & 39 gra (perhaps a Genevan ''[[Geneva 1755 pistole Fr-262|pistole]]'', rather light at 7.64 g, 0.900 fine gold);
 * ''Milleret de Portugal'' 2 gros (perhaps the Brazilian [[Brazil 1774 4000 reis|4000 réis]], 8.07 g, 0.917 fine gold).

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 The first column mentions four coins, which we translate below. We expand the abbreviations inside the brackets []:
-* ''Louis v[ieille]. de 48 l[ivres tournois].'' 4 gros & 18 gra (this would be the ''[[France 1747-BB 2 louis d'or|old double louis d'or]]'' of 1726-85 of 16.31 g, .917 fine gold);
+* ''Louis v[ieille]. de 48 l[ivres tournois].'' 4 gros & 18 gra (this would be the ''[[France 1747-BB 2 louis d'or|old double louis d'or]]'' of 1726-85 of 16.31 g, 0.917 fine gold);
-* ''Louis v[ieille]. de 24 l[ivres tournois].'' 2 gros & 9 gra (this would be the ''[[France 1753-A louis d'or|old louis d'or]]'' of 1726-85 of 8.15 g, .917 fine gold);
+* ''Louis v[ieille]. de 24 l[ivres tournois].'' 2 gros & 9 gra (this would be the ''[[France 1753-A louis d'or|old louis d'or]]'' of 1726-85 of 8.15 g, 0.917 fine gold);
-* ''Louis n[ouveau]. de 48 l[ivres tournois].'' 4 gros (this would be the new ''[[France 1786-H 2 louis d'or|double Louis d'or]]'' of 1785-92 of 15.29 g, .917 fine gold);
+* ''Louis n[ouveau]. de 48 l[ivres tournois].'' 4 gros (this would be the new ''[[France 1786-H 2 louis d'or|double Louis d'or]]'' of 1785-92 of 15.29 g, 0.917 fine gold);
-* ''Louis n[ouveau]. de 24 l[ivres tournois].'' 2 gros (this would be the new ''[[France 1789-D louis d'or|louis d'or]]'' of 1785-92 of 7.65 g, .917 fine gold).
+* ''Louis n[ouveau]. de 24 l[ivres tournois].'' 2 gros (this would be the new ''[[France 1789-D louis d'or|louis d'or]]'' of 1785-92 of 7.65 g, 0.917 fine gold).
 == Second column ==
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 * ''Ecus de 5 liv[res tournois] de France'' 7½ gros & 12 gra (this is the ''[[France 1790-A ecu|écu aux branches d'olivier]]'' struck 1726-92 of 29.48 g, .917 fine silver);
 * ''Piece de 5 fr[ancs] de France'' 6½ gros & 6 gra (this is the [[France L'AN 7-L 5 francs|"Hercules" five francs]] struck years 4-11 of the revolutionary calendar. It weighed 25 g, .900 fine silver);
-* ''Guinée d'Ang[leterre]'' 2 gros & 12 gra (the [[Great Britain 1794 guinea|English guinea]] of 8.35 g, .917 fine gold);
+* ''Guinée d'Ang[leterre]'' 2 gros & 12 gra (the [[Great Britain 1794 guinea|English guinea]] of 8.35 g, 0.917 fine gold);
 * ''Quadru[ple] d'Espag[ne]'' 7 gros & 3 gra (probably the Spanish [[Spain 1788-S C 8 escudos|doubloon or eight escudos]] of 27.07 g, .875 fine gold).
@@ Line 36: / Line 36: @@
 * ''Piece de Parme'' 1 gros & 60 gra (perhaps a ''[[Parma 1797-S doppia Fr-930|doppia]]'' of the duchy of Parma, 7.14 g, .891 fine gold);
 * ''Piece de Prusse'' 1 gros & 54 gra (the Prussian ''[[Prussia 1799-A friedrichs d'or|friedrichs d'or]]'', 6.682 g, .903 fine gold);
-* ''Portug.'' 1 gro & 54 gra (probably the Portuguese [[Portugal 1778 3200 reis|3200 réis]], 7.15 g, .917 fine gold);
+* ''Portug.'' 1 gro & 54 gra (probably the Portuguese [[Portugal 1778 3200 reis|3200 réis]], 7.15 g, 0.917 fine gold);
 * ''Piece de Géne[ve]'' 6 gros & 39 gra (perhaps a Genevan ''[[Geneva 1755 pistole Fr-262|pistole]]'', rather light at 7.64 g, .900 fine gold);
-* ''Milleret de Portugal'' 2 gros (perhaps the Brazilian [[Brazil 1774 4000 reis|4000 réis]], 8.07 g, .917 fine gold).
+* ''Milleret de Portugal'' 2 gros (perhaps the Brazilian [[Brazil 1774 4000 reis|4000 réis]], 8.07 g, 0.917 fine gold).
 The note at the bottom states, <blockquote>"''12 grains d'Or valent 2 liv[res tournois], 6 grains d'Or valent 1 liv[re tournois]., 1 grain d'Or vaut 5 sols 4 deniers'' (twelve grains of gold are worth two livres tournois, six grains of gold are worth one livre tournois, one grain of gold is worth five sous and four deniers.)"</blockquote> In the old French system, one ''livre'' was twenty ''sous'' and one ''sou'' was twelve ''deniers.''

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 We know from our research of coin catalogs what the face value of various coins and can calculate from their theoretical exchange ratio from their bullion content. It is instructive to look at primary documents to see how merchants dealt with various coins that came across their counters. The first thing any merchant would have done to any coin he was not familiar with would be to weigh it, perhaps with a scale similar to the one shown here.
-This scale is labeled in French so we assume that it was used there. The label is headed, <blockquote>"''Table des Monnaies d'Or qui ont cours dans les different Etats de l'Europe, avec la designation de leurs poids.'' (Table of gold coins current in the different countries of Europe with the designation of their weights."</blockquote> Four columns are shown, each labeled in "''gro''" (Gros) and "''gra''" (Grains). Altho the metric system was in legal force in France at this time, it doesn't seem to have penetrated to this merchant's counting offices. We will attempt to calculate the size of these obsolete units below.
+This scale is labeled in French so we assume that it was used there. The label is headed, <blockquote>"''Table des Monnaies d'Or qui ont cours dans les different Etats de l'Europe, avec la designation de leurs poids.'' (Table of gold coins current in the different countries of Europe with the designation of their weights.)"</blockquote> Four columns are shown, each labeled in "''gro''" (Gros) and "''gra''" (Grains). Altho the metric system was in legal force in France at this time, it doesn't seem to have penetrated to this merchant's counting offices. We will attempt to calculate the size of these obsolete units below.
 == First column ==