ABSTRACT

Sources: GENTIL DA SILVA [1969], vol. II, pp. 102-148 (1593-1650). Cf. MCCUSKER/GRAVESTEIJN [1991], pp. 379-392. Concordance: WdW IX, pp. 68-103; WdW III, pp. 255-331

Currency: At the Genoese exchange fairs, the most important fairs in the late 16th century, the quoting was done in units of foreign currency for scudi (d’oro) di marche. This was an accounting unit that have been introduced by merchants following the example of the Lyons fairs (at the Lyons fairs the écu de marc d’or at 3.08 grammes of fine gold was used as clearing unit). From 1594/95 the value of the scudi (d’oro) di marche derived from the average weight of the seven internationally circulating gold coins of Antwerp, Spain, Genoa, Venice, Florence, Piacenza and Naples and, therefore, it was independent of single national currencies. Before 1594/95, all scudi d’oro (in oro), which had been minted in Spain, Antwerp and the most important Italian trading cities, as well as the French écu d’or au soleil, served as official tender. Whenever payments in cash were necessary to settle a balance, they were expressed in scudi di marche but done in scudi d’oro (in oro); the ratio of the unit of account scudo di marche to the average troy weight of the scudi d’oro remaining unchanged from 1552 to 1763 (100:101) (HOUTMAN-DE SMEDT / VAN DER WEE [1993], p. 110; DENZEL [1994], pp. 315f.; NORTH [1996], p. 230; FELLONI [1983]).