ABSTRACT
Under Charlemagne, the Carolingian system of pounds, (livre, lira) shillings (sou, solidus) and pence (denier, denarius) spread into most of Western Europe including the several Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms which now constitute England. The prolific and attractive coinage of King Offa of Mercia (757-96) is a significant early example. This relationship between the pound as a weight of silver and the pound as a unit of money did not last long although it survived rather better in England than elsewhere. During the Anglo-Saxon period of sound money, the weight of the penny fluctuated between 18 and 27 grains, (with no apparent ulterior motive) and, after the Norman Conquest, was formalised by William I at 22.5 grains of silver, rather less than the 24 grains that the strict relationship would have required.
