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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;GDJMSP, post: 1917026, member: 112&quot;]Interesting read, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I have spent much time myself studying the issue as best I can in order to better understand the correlation of the various coinages from various countries. Tye&#039;s research goes much further back than I ever cared to, but it also shows where the very roots of the system come from.</p><p><br /></p><p>That said, from one country/state to another things were rarely equal as it seems that each chose its own set of standards to follow, as indicated by the simplistic chart below. </p><p><br /></p><p>The pound was used as a standard weight, but every city had its own pound</p><p>&nbsp;with a differing weight, so the problems were enormous. The mark of Cologne,</p><p>&nbsp;Germany, was the general standard until the 1800s, so the following list </p><p>is a comparison with that standard: </p><p><br /></p><p>Cologne = 2 marc = 467.620 grams </p><p>French&nbsp; = 2 marc = 489.506 </p><p>Aachen&nbsp; = 32 loth = 467.040 </p><p>Amsterdam troy = 2 mark = 492.168 </p><p>Antwerp = 2 mark = 468.800 </p><p>Hamburg = 512 pennyweight = 484.690 </p><p>Lisbon&nbsp; = 2 marcas = 459.100 </p><p>Lucerne = medical pound = 357.950 </p><p>Munich&nbsp; = 560.000 </p><p>Naples&nbsp; = 12 ounces = 320.759 </p><p>Stockholm = 425.34 </p><p><br /></p><p>(I found it interesting that this basic list for the most part jives with Tye&#039;s numbers.)</p><p><br /></p><p>In virtually all countries coins were minted on a basis of X number of coins per marc, or pound, or ounce, etc. For purposes of understanding the above is shown in grams to show the correlation of them all to the others.</p><p><br /></p><p>Now as to the reason of why they did this, had such differences, which was your question, I have always thought the answer to be rather simple. It was to show and declare their individuality, their sovereignty. In other words, one of the simplest and most basic driving forces of man - ego.</p><p><br /></p><p>And of course there is one other issue, one other driving force, that must not be overlooked or forgotten - greed. If nothing else history has shown us that for greed, in the interest of profit, man has usually been willing to forego ego. This is evidenced by another of my favorite subjects, the almost universal adoption of a single currency - the ducat. But that is another story.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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