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<p>[QUOTE="EWC3, post: 3190785, member: 93416"]I did some work on this matter a couple of years back - but since gave up on trying to publish it formally - (sheesh - just too hard to find appropriate editors and referees). Here is a rough outline of the conclusions - taken from memory</p><p><br /></p><p>The long lasting penny reform (the introduction of sterling weight) seems to be in the 790's. According to contemporary histories a proposed dynastic alliance between Offa and Charlemagne broke down at that time. However, if you read the letters of the crucial go between - Alcuin of York - what really went on was more a sort of trade war or "proto-brexit". All we really know is that around 790 all import/export trade across the English channel stopped. A situation that was apparently only resolved after about 2 years.</p><p><br /></p><p>Then around the period 793-4 both Offa and Charlemagne reformed their penny weight standards - it seems according to the same principle</p><p><br /></p><p>Offa seems to fix his weight standard for gross goods/bullion at 12 troy ounces and struck 256 sterling pennies from that. But he applied a tariff of c.12% - 1/16 - which at the mint was interpreted as a seigniorage - making 240 sterling pennies to the value pound - each penny of c. 1.46g</p><p><br /></p><p>Meanwhile Charlemagne fixed his weight standard for gross goods/bullion at 16 Roman ounces and struck 256 pennies from them. But he also applied a tariff of 1/16 - which again at the mint was interpreted as a seigniorage - making 240 Carolingian pennies to the value pound - thus each penny of c. 1.7g</p><p><br /></p><p>Probably theology and trade got mixed up at the time. All this apparently started when Charlemagne set on Alcuin and his friends to rediscover the true Biblical weight standard decreed by Moses. The standard Offa ultimately chose was the one of the biblical lands in the 8th century AD - that of the Umayyad Caliphs, (but apparently with much earlier Ancient Egyptian roots). The one applied by Charlemagne was Roman in origin, (although the Romans seem to have got it from the Greeks)</p><p><br /></p><p>More details available on request - and as ever - criticism sought</p><p><br /></p><p>Rob T</p><p><br /></p><p>PS -on the very ancient roots of the troy standard - see the "King Brut" thread[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="EWC3, post: 3190785, member: 93416"]I did some work on this matter a couple of years back - but since gave up on trying to publish it formally - (sheesh - just too hard to find appropriate editors and referees). Here is a rough outline of the conclusions - taken from memory The long lasting penny reform (the introduction of sterling weight) seems to be in the 790's. According to contemporary histories a proposed dynastic alliance between Offa and Charlemagne broke down at that time. However, if you read the letters of the crucial go between - Alcuin of York - what really went on was more a sort of trade war or "proto-brexit". All we really know is that around 790 all import/export trade across the English channel stopped. A situation that was apparently only resolved after about 2 years. Then around the period 793-4 both Offa and Charlemagne reformed their penny weight standards - it seems according to the same principle Offa seems to fix his weight standard for gross goods/bullion at 12 troy ounces and struck 256 sterling pennies from that. But he applied a tariff of c.12% - 1/16 - which at the mint was interpreted as a seigniorage - making 240 sterling pennies to the value pound - each penny of c. 1.46g Meanwhile Charlemagne fixed his weight standard for gross goods/bullion at 16 Roman ounces and struck 256 pennies from them. But he also applied a tariff of 1/16 - which again at the mint was interpreted as a seigniorage - making 240 Carolingian pennies to the value pound - thus each penny of c. 1.7g Probably theology and trade got mixed up at the time. All this apparently started when Charlemagne set on Alcuin and his friends to rediscover the true Biblical weight standard decreed by Moses. The standard Offa ultimately chose was the one of the biblical lands in the 8th century AD - that of the Umayyad Caliphs, (but apparently with much earlier Ancient Egyptian roots). The one applied by Charlemagne was Roman in origin, (although the Romans seem to have got it from the Greeks) More details available on request - and as ever - criticism sought Rob T PS -on the very ancient roots of the troy standard - see the "King Brut" thread[/QUOTE]
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