Solidus (coin)

From Wikinfo

A solidus (the latin word for solid) was originally a gold coin issued by the Romans. It was introduced by Constantine I in the 4th century AD, and was used through the Byzantine Empire until the 10th century AD.

At the time of it's introduction it replaced the aureus, and was worth 1/72nd of a libra (coin) (Roman Pound).

Contents 1 Impact on world currencies 1.1 Peru 1.2 France 1.3 United Kingdom 2 See also 2.1 References

Impact on world currencies

Variations on the word Solidus gave rise to a number of currency units:

Peru

The current currency of Peru, is the Sol.

France

In France the the sol was the name for a 12 denier coin, 1/20th of the Livre Tournois (Tournoise Pound). After decimalisation in France, the sou became the name for a a 5 centime coin, 1/20th of the French Franc.

United Kingdom

Until decimalisation in the United Kingdom, the letter s, from solidus, was used to represent a shilling, worth 1/20th of a Pound Sterling.

See also

• Roman currency
• Byzantine currency

• Solidus (punctuation)

References

• Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "Solidus_(coin)" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solidus_(coin), used under the GNU Free Documentation License