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THE COIN COLLECTOR - World eBook Library

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TERMINOLOGY<br />

stance being that the pcrpero itself was a Byzantine<br />

coin. This standard was equally borrowed by the<br />

French rulers, the Italian commonwealths, and by the<br />

Anglo-Saxons, from Germany, and fluctuated in value<br />

according to the changes effected at various times in<br />

the current money. The old denier pai'isis was struck<br />

at 220 to the mark. The normal German silver thaler<br />

was = one-tenth of the mark of Cologne. A four-<br />

groschen piece of Prussia, 1803, reads on reverse : 84<br />

Ex Marca Pura Colon. In the monetary system of<br />

Geneva, as established in 1535, the silver florin was<br />

= the twenty-seventh part of a mark of Cologne.<br />

Maundy money—The alms, consisting of fourpence,<br />

threepence, twopence, and a penny in silver, distri-<br />

buted by the High Almoner on behalf of the sovereign,<br />

with other gifts, to a number of poor persons, regulated<br />

by the age of the king or queen, on Maundy Thursday.<br />

The term is derived from the maund or basket in<br />

which the charity is delivered. The money was first<br />

struck under Charles II. for this purpose, and the<br />

practice still continues.<br />

Medallion—A term applied to the larger pieces of<br />

money in the Greek and Roman series, as to which,<br />

or some of which at least, there has been a question<br />

if they were intended for currency or for distribution<br />

as medals.<br />

Merovingian money—An expression rather loosely<br />

applied to the whole group of coins struck in the<br />

245

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