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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;GDJMSP, post: 197387, member: 112&quot;]Well, back then they didn&#039;t do things the same way we do today. Back then, a skilled assayer would use a touch stone and in a couple of seconds he could pin down the fineness of gold dead on. The Venetian ducat, from its introduction was .986 gold. So were all ducats after that and the florin, the noble, the gold gulden etc etc etc. </p><p><br /></p><p>I&#039;m not sure exactly when the use of the term carat came into common use, but that is inevitably how coins of that age are described in today&#039;s world. Some actually know the fineness of the coins, some don&#039;t - so they use what they have seen others use. And carat seems to be the term. But you can bet that the assayers of the day knew the fineness <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie2" alt=";)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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