Coinage and the Tyranny of Fantasy 'Gold'

Just a few lines in, and I can tell this should be complementary with <i>Debt: The First 5,000 years</i> by the late David Graeber. Much of the book is about deconstructing modern myths of how economies used to work and how they evolved over time.

I find it interesting that a Charlemagne Franc at 3.75g is roughly equal to a Venetian Ducat and to a Florin at 3.5g.<p>In the Middle East and much of Africa, a gold Dinar or Mithqal was 4.25g. In other words, the gold units for Europe, Africa, and the ME were roughly equal.<p>Meanwhile in South Asia, the Tola was 11.6g or one third of a franc. While in East Asia, the Chinese Tael was 37.5g or ten times the franc.

Funny I read something to the effect that some people in Rome got paid a few pounds of gold a year which is about what people get paid today.