Practice question · Multiple choice
Genoa and Florence began striking gold coin again in 1252, and Venice from 1284, after centuries in which the West minted silver only. What does the return of gold coinage indicate?
Hints
- Ask what a merchant settling a large Levantine contract in silver has to physically carry.
- A coinage needs both a demand for high-value units and a supply of the metal.
Show the answer
C. Transactions grew so large that silver was too bulky, with gold inflows sufficient for coinage
Why
Both halves are needed. Big transactions make silver unwieldy, a substantial payment is a cartload, and the trade with North Africa and the Levant was bringing gold in. Silver production was in fact expanding at the time, so exhaustion is the wrong explanation; the change reflects the scale trade had reached.
Practise Towns and Commerce, Eleventh to Thirteenth Centuries
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