Coinage
The Norman kings in the 12th century used the tari, which had been used in Sicily from 913 as the basic coin. One tari weighed about one gram and was 16 1⁄3 of gold. The Arab dinar was worth four tari, and the Byzantine solidus six tari. In the kingdom one onza was equivalent to thirty tari or five florins. One tari was worth twenty grani. One grana was equivalent to six denari. After 1140 the circulation of the copper coin romesina stopped and it was replaced by the follaris. Twenty four follari were equivalent to one Byzantine miliaresion.
After defeating the Tunisians in 1231 Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor minted the augustalis. It was minted in 21 1⁄2 carats and weighed 5.28 grams. In 1490 the triumphi were minted in Sicily. They were equivalent to the Venetian ducat. One triumpho was worth 11 1⁄2 aquilae. One aquila was worth twenty grani. In transactions tari and pichuli were mainly used.
Read more about this topic: Kingdom Of Sicily
Famous quotes containing the word coinage:
“Designs in connection with postage stamps and coinage may be described, I think, as the silent ambassadors on national taste.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)