Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch and German gulden, originally shortened from Middle High German guldin pfenninc "gold penny". This was the term that became current in the southern and western parts of the Holy Roman Empire for the Fiorino d'oro. Hence, the name has often been interchangeable with florin.
The English florin, sometimes known as the double leopard, was an attempt in 1344 by Edward III to produce gold coinage suitable for use in Europe as well as in England. It was authorised on 27 January 1344, and struck from 108 grains of nominal pure ('fine') gold and had a value of six shillings.
The forint is the currency of Hungary. It was formerly divided into 100 fillér, but fillér coins are no longer in circulation. The introduction of the forint on 1 August 1946 was a crucial step in the post-World War II stabilisation of the Hungarian economy, and the currency remained relatively stable until the 1980s. Transition to a market economy in the early 1990s adversely affected the value of the forint; inflation peaked at 35% in 1991. Between 2001 and 2022, inflation was in single digits, and the forint has been declared fully convertible. In May 2022, inflation reached 10.7% amid the war in Ukraine and economic uncertainty. As a member of the European Union, the long-term aim of the Hungarian government may be to replace the forint with the euro, although under the current government there is no target date for adopting the euro.
The solidus or nomisma was a highly pure gold coin issued in the Late Roman Empire and Byzantine Empire. The early 4th century saw the solidus introduced in mintage as a successor to the aureus, which was permanently replaced thereafter by the new coin, whose weight of about 4.5 grams remained relatively constant for seven centuries. In the Byzantine Empire, the solidus, or nomisma, remained a highly pure gold coin until the 11th century, when several Byzantine emperors began to strike the coin with less and less gold. The nomisma was finally abolished by Alexius I in 1092, who replaced it with the hyperpyron, which also came to be known as a "bezant". The Byzantine solidus also inspired the originally slightly less pure dinar issued by the Muslim Caliphate. In Western Europe, the solidus was the main gold coin of commerce from late Roman times to Pepin the Short's currency reform in the 750s, which introduced the silver-based pound/shilling/penny system.
The ducat coin was used as a trade coin in Europe from the later Middle Ages to the 19th century. Its most familiar version, the gold ducat or sequin containing around 3.5 grams of 98.6% fine gold, originated in Venice in 1284 and gained wide international acceptance over the centuries. Similarly named silver ducatons also existed. The gold ducat circulated along with the Florentine florin and preceded both the modern British pound sterling and the United States dollar.
The lira was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002. It was introduced by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy in 1807 at par with the French franc, and was subsequently adopted by the different states that would eventually form the Kingdom of Italy in 1861. It was subdivided into 100 centesimi, which means "hundredths" or "cents". The lira was also the currency of the Albanian Kingdom from 1941 to 1943.
The term écu may refer to one of several French coins. The first écu was a gold coin minted during the reign of Louis IX of France, in 1266. The value of the écu varied considerably over time, and silver coins were also introduced.
The Austro-Hungarian gulden was the currency of the lands of the House of Habsburg between 1754 and 1892, when it was replaced by the Austro-Hungarian krone as part of the introduction of the gold standard. In Austria, the gulden was initially divided into 60 kreuzers. The currency was decimalized in 1857, using the same names for the unit and subunit.
The lira austriaca was the currency of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia.
The lira was the distinct currency of Venice until 1848, when it was replaced by the Italian lira. It originated from the Carolingian monetary system used in much of Western Europe since the 8th century CE, with the lira subdivided into 20 soldi, each of 12 denari.
The Venetian grosso is a silver coin first introduced in Venice in 1193 under doge Enrico Dandolo. It originally weighed 2.18 grams, was composed of 98.5% pure silver, and was valued at 26 denarii. Its name is from the same root as groschen and the English groat, all deriving ultimately from the denaro grosso.
The florin was a former coin of the Republic of Florence.
Italy has a long history of different coinage types, which spans thousands of years. Italy has been influential at a coinage point of view: the medieval Florentine florin, one of the most used coinage types in European history and one of the most important coins in Western history, was struck in Florence in the 13th century, while the Venetian sequin, minted from 1284 to 1797, was the most prestigious gold coin in circulation in the commercial centers of the Mediterranean Sea.
The Florin was an Aragonese gold coin first minted in 1346 by order of king Don Peter IV in imitation of the original gold coin from Florence, Italy. It had a weight of 3.35 g. and showed St. John the Baptist on one side and a fleur de lis on the other. Aragonese florins were minted in Perpignan, Barcelona, Girona, Valencia and Majorca but never in the Kingdom of Aragon.
The Great Recoinage of 1816 was an attempt by the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to re-stabilise its currency, the pound sterling, after the economic difficulties brought about by the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.
The Coinage of the Republic of Venice include the coins produced by the Republic of Venice from the late 12th century to 1866. After this date, coins were still produced in Venice.
The croat was a silver coin of Catalonia introduced by Peter III of Aragon in 1285 and minted at Barcelona. The term "croat" derives from the Latin grossus denarius, great coin, a common term for silver coins of higher value than pennies. Peter III was inspired by the gros introduced by Louis IX of France.
This is a description of the current and historical currencies of Croatia, or historically used in the region. The currency of Croatia is the euro, in use since 2023.
The Genoese lira was the currency of the Republic of Genoa until 1797.
The genovino was a gold coin used in the Republic of Genoa from 1252 to 1415.
