You might be familiar with currencies like the rupee, dollar, euro, etc. These are standardized currencies accepted in their respective countries. In earlier days too, there were such currencies, widely circulated, and used within a country or empire.
One of the most stable currencies of ancient times was ‘solidus’ of the Byzantine empire. It was a gold coin issued by Constantine the Great. Yet another was the ‘Dinar’, known to have first issued by the Umayyad Caliphate. Today, the dinar is the main currency unit in many countries such as Iraq and Bahrain.
The silver denarius or penny, which was considered a standard coin in the Western Europe, was introduced by the Frankish king Pepin the Short. Soon, many European countries started using the ‘penny’. The later kings established that twelve pennies were equivalent to one solidus, as well as one silver shilling.
The Venetian ducat, first minted in 1284, and the famous ‘florino’ of Florence were the other two currencies widely accepted in their times.
Another important currency was the ‘thaler’, the forefather of the modern day ‘dollar’.
