Money
HE word Money owes its existence to Moneta, one of the surnames of Juno, in whose temple the first coinage of the Romans took place. Mint claims the same etymology, being a contraction of the Latin moneta, brought about through the Anglo-Saxon mynet. By Sterling Money is meant the standard coin of Great Britain, and for this reason :-During the reign of King John the merchants of the Hansa Towns, of which the inhabitants were commonly described as Esterlings, because they resided in the eastern portions of Germany, having long been noted for the purity of their coinage, the king invited a number of them over to this country for the purpose of reforming and perfecting our coinage. The invitation was accepted; and ever afterwards good English money received the name of Esterling or sterling money.
A Guinea was an English gold piece first struck in 1663 out of gold brought from the coast of Guinea, West Africa. Its value has been subject to fluctuations at different periods. Thus, in 1663 it was worth 20s.; in 1695, 30s.; in 1717, 21s.; in 1810, 22s. 6d.; and in 1816, 26s. The coinage of guineas Money. was discontinued July 1, 1817. A Sovereign is so called because when originally coined, during the reign of Henry VIII., it bore a representation of that sovereign in his royal robes. A Crown-piece when first introduced displayed a crown on its reverse side. The Florin took its name from Florence, in which city it was struck as long ago as the thirteenth century. Its reverse side has always borne a representation of a lily, emblematical of "The City of Flowers." The term Shilling traces its origin in the Anglo-Saxon scilling, the Icelandic skillinge, and the Gothic skilliggs, in each case denoting the twentieth part of a pound, as at present. A Penny, so called from the Anglo-Saxon penig, and Danish pennig (whence the modern German Phennig has been derived), originally denoted a copper coin of full value; a Halfpenny, the half of a penny; and a Farthing, agreeably to the Anglo-Saxon feodha, a fourth, a penny divided into four parts. We must not omit to mention that in olden times only pennypieces were struck; and these were deeply indented in the form of a cross-exactly, in fact, after the manner of our Good Friday buns; so that when halfpennies or farthings were required the pennies could be broken into two or four portions without difficulty.
Among coins other than those now current in this country we may mention the Ducat, or Duke's Money, specially struck for circulation in the Duchy of Apulia in the year 1140, and which bore this beautiful inscription: "Sit tibi Christi, datus, quem tu regis, iste ducatus" ("May this duchy which You rule be devoted to You, O Christ"); and the Noble, so called on account of the superiority of its gold. During the reign of Henry III. this gold piece found its way into England under the name of Rose- Noble, owing to the impression of a rose on its reverse side; but in the reign of Henry VIII., simultaneous with the substitution of the figure of St. George, it was designated a George-Noble.
The value of this coin at both periods was six-andeightpence. The current value of an Angel, so styled from the angel on its reverse side, was, when introduced in the reign of Henry VI., six-and-eightpence; but at the accession of Elizabeth it had increased to ten shillings.