Did you know that European countries in the beginning of the mediaeval era traded in bullion, which refers to bars and ingots of gold and silver rather than coins? In the mid-seventh century, bullion fuelled the adoption of silver coins in the Byzantine Empire, which was the eastern half of the Roman Empire, and included parts of Europe and western Asia.
A century later, people started making coins using silver obtained from a mine in Roman Emperor Charlemagne’s Francia, a new study has shown.
The paper describing the findings was recently published in the journal Antiquity.
The study, led by researchers at University of Cambridge, is important because it can change the world’s understanding of economic and political development in Europe.
Old Money Mystery
There was increased use of silver coins for trade in Anglo-Saxon England (Early Mediaeval England) between 660 and 750 AD. People were no longer using gold as money.
The use of around 7,000 silver pennies has been recorded during this period. Surprisingly, the number of silver pennies used over 90 years was the same as the number of coins used for the rest of the entire Anglo-Saxon period, which ended in 1066 AD.
Scientists have always wondered where the silver in these coins came from.
The Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge harbours some silver coins from the Mediaeval Era, and by analysing these, scientists have decoded the old money mystery.