
Medieval and Early Modern Coinage and Its Problems - gwern
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=151828
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bhuga
For anyone who finds historical money markets interesting, the problems
arising from a lack of efficient currency in the late 17th century are the
recurring theme in Neal Stephenson's _The Baroque Cycle_, which is a great (if
long!) read. I can't vouch for the accuracy, but one example is a 30-page
dramatized story of a primary character learning why it was easier for France
to buy baltic lumber than to ship it from its interior to its shipyards.
There's similar dramatized stories of how to arbitrage letters of exchange
from banks in different cities, having so much gold that it can't be spent,
and what it means to ship specie across an ocean. Overall, a very economically
cerebral trio action novels.

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pacaro
Where my education in the history of science overlaps with Neal Stephenson,
there is often not too much agreement. Naturally, he has license to make
things work however he choses in his fictional universe. I'd be wary about
thinking that you have learned anything direct about history from his writing.
Remember, this is the author who defined BIOS as "built-in operating system",
not because he didn't know better, but because that's what he would like it to
stand for.

I much preferred Anathem for this reason, when he's writing about another
world he's not polluting the real history of this one. In a sense Neal
Stephenson's novels that are set in apparently historical contexts are a
little like later chapters in "the book" from Anathem

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danidiaz
A good book about medieval money is "Money and Its Use in Medieval Europe" by
Peter Spufford:
[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1387158.Money_and_Its_Us...](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1387158.Money_and_Its_Use_in_Medieval_Europe)

Another interesting paper by Meir Kohn, this one about the evolution of the
bill of exchange:
[https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=151849](https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=151849)

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gpvos
I'm still sad that they didn't name the euro ecu (after both the ECU that
preceded it and the ancient French coin).

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rjsw
France has responded by calling Euro cents "centimes".

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golergka
Anyone can recommend a computer or pen-and-paper games that use this variety
of currency as a game mechanic? Would be a welcome distraction from the usual
D&D copper/silver/gold/platinum stereotype.

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KaiserPro
This is an awesome read.

The throwaway line that richard the lionheart was ransomed for 100,000 pounds
of silver, 5 times his annual income, is brilliant.

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tokai
Nice article, but should this have a [1999] in the title?

