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The Dollar of the Middle Ages1

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  • Lopez, Robert Sabatino

Abstract

The gold money of the Byzantine Empire “is accepted everywhere from end to end of the earth. It is admired by all men and in all kingdoms, because no kingdom has a currency that can be compared to it.†These boastful words of Cosmas Indicopleustes, a contemporary of Justinian die Great, are a typical expression of die pride of die Greek nation. Cosmas was a monk who tried to demonstrate from the Scriptures that the earth was flat, but in his youth he had been an adventurous merchant and traveler, and well he knew where the true primacy of his nation lay. While die armies of Justinian had not marched as far as those of Trajan, and his law was not enforced in all die countries which had obeyed Theodosius, the monetary empire of New Rome was even greater than that of Old Rome. The gold nomisma (or bezant, as die Westerners later called it) was as peerless as die sovereign whose effigy it bore. Procopius, another contemporary of Justinian die Great, stated: “It is not right for die Persian king or for any odier sovereign in die whole barbarian world to imprint his own likeness on a gold stater, and that, too, though he has gold in his own kingdom; for they are unable to tender such a coin to those widi whom they transact business.â€

Suggested Citation

  • Lopez, Robert Sabatino, 1951. "The Dollar of the Middle Ages1," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 11(3), pages 209-234, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:jechis:v:11:y:1951:i:03:p:209-234_08
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    Cited by:

    1. Costas N. Kanellopoulos, 2012. "The Size and structure of uninsured employment," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 37, pages 23-41, December.
    2. Lothian, James R., 2002. "The internationalization of money and finance and the globalization of financial markets," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 21(6), pages 699-724, November.
    3. Kiminori Matsuyama & Nobuhiro Kiyotaki & Akihiko Matsui, 1993. "Toward a Theory of International Currency," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 60(2), pages 283-307.
    4. Michele Fratianni, 2012. "The Future International Monetary System: Dominant Currencies or Supranational Money? An Introduction," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 1-12, February.
    5. Gerald P. Dwyer & James R. Lothian, 2002. "International money and common currencies in historical perspective," FRB Atlanta Working Paper 2002-7, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
    6. Petros M. Migiakis, 2012. "Reviewing the proposals for common bond issuances by the euro-area sovereign under a long-term perspective," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 37, pages 43-54, December.
    7. Gerald P. Dwyer Jr. & James R. Lothian, 2003. "The Economics of International Monies," International Finance 0311010, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Branko Milanovic, 2006. "An Estimate Of Average Income And Inequality In Byzantium Around Year 1000," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 52(3), pages 449-470, September.
    9. Hartmann, Philipp & Issing, Otmar, 2002. "The international role of the euro," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 24(4), pages 315-345, July.
    10. Pietro Alessandrini & Michele Fratianni, 2009. "International Monies, Special Drawing Rights, and Supernational Money," Mo.Fi.R. Working Papers 26, Money and Finance Research group (Mo.Fi.R.) - Univ. Politecnica Marche - Dept. Economic and Social Sciences.
    11. Zacharias Bragoudakis & Dimitrios Sideris, 2012. "Do retail gasoline prices adjust symmetrically to crude oil price changes? the case of the Greek oil market," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 37, pages 7-21, December.
    12. Gunes Gokmen & Wessel N. Vermeulen & Pierre-Louis Vézina, 2020. "The imperial roots of global trade," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 25(1), pages 87-145, March.

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