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 500 - 1099 AD |
 1300 - 1499 AD |
© Roy Davies & Glyn Davies, 1996 & 1999.
Based on the book: A History of Money from Ancient Times to the Present Day by Glyn Davies, rev. ed. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1996. 716p. ISBN 0 7083 1351 5. (Page numbers in the 3rd edition published in 2002 may be slightly different).
| 1095-1270 | The Crusades |
|---|---|
|
The need to transfer large sums of money to finance the Crusades provides a
stimulus to the re-emergence of banking in western Europe.
p 152-155 |
|
| 1100-1135 | Reign of Henry I |
|
The quality of England's silver currency falls drastically.
p 138-139 |
|
| 1124 | Punishment of the mint masters |
|
At the Assize of Winchester on Christmas day all the mint masters are punished
by having their right hands cut off. Not surprisingly this produces a temporary
improvement in the quality of the coinage.
p 139 |
|
| 1138-1153 | Civil War between Stephen and Matilda |
|
Some powerful English barons issue their own currencies.
p 139 |
|
| 1149 | Hung Tsun's Chhuan Chih or A Treatise on Coinage |
|
This Chinese work is the first known on numismatics in any language.
p 182 |
|
| 1156 | Earliest known foreign exchange contract |
|
Two brothers borrow 115 Genoese pounds and agree to reimburse the bank's agents
in Constantinople the sum of 460 bezants one month after their arrival in that
city. In the following century the use of such contracts grows rapidly
particularly when profits from time differences are seen as not infringing
canon laws against usury.
p 155-156 |
|
| 1158 | Henry II reforms the English coinage |
|
This restores the prestige of English money which is maintained at a high level
for the next four centuries.
p 142 |
|
| 1159 | Scutage tax introduced by Henry II in lieu of military service |
|
The annual 40 days service owed to him by his tenants-in-chief and their
retainers is commuted into cash payments and with the proceeds he is able to
establish a permanent army of mercenaries or professional soldiers as
they commonly became known after this time from the solidus or king's
shilling that they earn.
p 141-142 |
|
| 1160 | Emperor Kao Tsung reforms the Chinese paper currency |
|
Earlier issues have been excessive and so have become almost worthless.
Therefore Kao Tsung replaces them with a new issue.
p 181 |
|
| c. 1160-c. 1200 | English wooden tallies evolve into instruments of credit |
|
Tallies were wooden sticks originally used as receipts. Notches whose sizes
represented a particular sum of money would be cut into the stick which would
then be split down the middle. One part would be kept by the creditor, the
other by the debtor. Sometimes the loans were fictitiously swollen to get round
the prohibition of usury. During the 12th century the English Exchequer starts
issuing tallies as a form of credit. Tallies were not finally abolished until
1826.
p 147-152, 663 |
|
| 1166 | Henry II levies a tax to support the Crusades |
|
This is the first of a series of taxes levied by Henry over the years with the
same objective. The Templars and Hospitallers act as his bankers in the Holy
Land.
p 156 |
|
| 1166 | Hyperinflation in China |
|
The nominal value of the official paper note issues reaches 43,600,000 ounces
of silver. In addition there are various local note issues.
p 181 |
|
| 1185 | Henry II levies a new Crusading Tax |
|
A levy of sixpence in the pound on all movable
property is imposed along with a 1 per cent tax on all incomes whether
from land or any other source.
p 156 |
|
| 1187 | Battle of Hattin |
|
Henry II's eastern account contains approximately 20,000 pounds of silver but
he does not allow anyone to spend it until after Saladin's crushing victory
over the Crusaders.
p 156 |
|
| 1188 | The Saladin Tithe |
|
Henry extends the provisions of the crusading tax of 1185 and attempts to speed
up the assessment process by introducing self-assessment.
p 157 |
|
| 1189-1199 | Reign of Richard I |
|
On ascending the throne Richard immediately begins to "privatise" the
monarchy's assets to raise money for the 3rd Crusade which starts in 1190. On
his return through Europe he is taken prisoner, sold to Emperor Henry VI and
then held for ransom.
p 157 |
|
| 1194 | Richard released after being ransomed for £100,000 |
|
The speed with which the money is raised is a sign of England's prosperity.
p 157 |
|
| 1215 | The Magna Carta signed |
|
Among its provisions were restrictions on the right of the king to raise taxes
without the consent of the Barons.
p 158 |
|
| 1232-1253 | Gold coins are issued by several Italian states |
|
Under the influence of Byzantine and Arab coinage Messina and Brindisi (1232),
Florence (1252) and Genoa (1253) issue gold coins. The type minted in Florence,
the florin, becomes widely copied in other parts of Europe.
p 124 |
|
| 1236 | First Mongol issues of paper money |
|
The Mongol empire, which now includes China, issues paper money on a moderate
scale.
p 181 |
|
| 1260 | Kublai Khan's first issue of paper money |
|
By this time the note circulation has reached a substantial level.
p 181 |
|
| 1275 | Edward I forbids the Jews to exact usury |
|
The resulting shortage of money leads to an increase in clipping and a decline
in the quality of the coinage. The Jews get blamed and suffer wholesale arrests
in 1278 and expulsion from England in 1290.
p 143 |
|
| 1275-1292 | Marco Polo lives in China |
|
From his subsequent account of his Travels, Europe learns of paper
money.
p 181 |
|
| 1279-1281 | Edward I issues 3 new coins |
|
The halfpenny, farthing, and groat (4 pence). The first two meet the demand for
low-denomination coinage at a time when a penny would be a typical whole day's
pay.
p 143 |
|
| 1282 | The first recorded Trial of the Pyx |
|
A public test of the purity of gold and silver coins, which continues in
Britain to this day.
p 144-146 |
|
| 1283 | Statute of Burnell |
|
This introduces a central registrar of large credit transactions in England.
p 172 |
|
| 1294 | Paper money issued in Persia |
|
This disastrous experiment lasts barely two months and is confined to the city
of Tabriz. Subsequently Rashid al Din, prime minister of Persia round about
this time, describes both printing and paper money in his History of the
World.
p 182 |
|
| 1299 | Statute of Stepney on Bad Money |
|
The importation of debased coins into England is forbidden and restrictions on
the export of silver bullion and coins are introduced. These provisions are
strengthened in 1351.
p 163 |
|
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