THE COIN COLLECTOR - World eBook Library

TERMINOLOGY
stance being that the pcrpero itself was a Byzantine
coin. This standard was equally borrowed by the
French rulers, the Italian commonwealths, and by the
Anglo-Saxons, from Germany, and fluctuated in value
according to the changes effected at various times in
the current money. The old denier pai'isis was struck
at 220 to the mark. The normal German silver thaler
was = one-tenth of the mark of Cologne. A four-
groschen piece of Prussia, 1803, reads on reverse : 84
Ex Marca Pura Colon. In the monetary system of
Geneva, as established in 1535, the silver florin was
= the twenty-seventh part of a mark of Cologne.
Maundy money—The alms, consisting of fourpence,
threepence, twopence, and a penny in silver, distri-
buted by the High Almoner on behalf of the sovereign,
with other gifts, to a number of poor persons, regulated
by the age of the king or queen, on Maundy Thursday.
The term is derived from the maund or basket in
which the charity is delivered. The money was first
struck under Charles II. for this purpose, and the
practice still continues.
Medallion—A term applied to the larger pieces of
money in the Greek and Roman series, as to which,
or some of which at least, there has been a question
if they were intended for currency or for distribution
as medals.
Merovingian money—An expression rather loosely
applied to the whole group of coins struck in the
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