The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1906-08-21
NAMES OF COINS
Significance Attached to Them All
Over the World.

of modern coins-originated in Flor
ence. Some say that 1t gave the name
to the city, while others assert that 1t
was first so called because it had on
1t aeur de lis--from the Italian for
one, or "fiower"-for the same reason
than an English silver piece is called
Grown" or certain gold pieces In
France indifferently Napoleon" or
a Louis" or the ten-dollar gold
pieces in America an "eagle"
| For several hundred years, and
down to recent date, money was
coined at from twenty-five to thirty
different cities in France that had in
herited the privilege. Now all French
money is coined at the Paris mint
Few French gold pieces are, how
ever, in circulation except those bear
ing the head of Napoleon Ill, and all
yer pieces Of the same coinage are
almost as plentiful. French silver
coins wear admirably, and pieces Of
[ the reign of Charles X. Louis XVIII
and Napoleon | are very common.
The standard coins of the Continent
are: In France, the franc. in Spain,
the peseta; In Italy the lire; in Hol-
land and Austria, the form; in Ger.
many, the mark; in Russia, the ruble.
Belgium and Switzerland use the
French name for the piece of twenty
sous. Each Of these pieces Is, like
the American dollar, divided into one
hundred parts, called kopeck in Rus
sia, pfennig in Germany. kreutzer in
Austria, cent in Holland, and in Italy,
France and Spain by the word mean
ing hundredth.
The word shilling is of German
derivation, like penny, which comes
from the German ''pfennig."
The word crown comes from the
image placed on the coin.
The name franc was given by King
John, who first coined these pieces in
1860. They bore the motto lie Roi
Frank" (King of the Franks), and
were of two kinds, one representing
the king on horseback, the otner on
foot.
The franc was formerly also called
livre (pound), though the connection
with any special weight is not evil
dent. The name Of the German coin,
mark-meaning weight of eight
ounces-was formerly in general use
in Europe.
The name of the Italian coin that
corresponds with the franc (ira) also
means pound.
The coins in present use in Spain
have their names from, other sources.
The five-peseta piece, which corres-
ponds with the American dollar, is
called escudo (shield). Peseta--the
name of the small coin representing
the monetary standard-means simply
little piece"
| Ruble Is from the word meaning
ito cut" and was so called because
originally the coin was made with an
| ornamental edge
Ducat is g. coin, either OF silver or
| gold, struck in the dominions of
duke, the siver ducat being generally
| OF the value of an American dollar,
and the gold ducat is worth twice az
much. Farthing means the fourth OF
a penny, and is derived from the Ar-
gio-Saxen word ferdha, the fourth.
Sovereign is an English gold coin.
on which an eff1gy of the head of the
relgning king or queen is stamped,
and 1t is equivalent to a one-pound
note, or about five dollars OF our cur
rency. The pound sterling was in
Saxon times-about A. d. ella
pound troy in silver, and a shilling
was its twentieth part. consequently
the latter was three times as large az
it is at present.
Few persons have ever troubled
themselves to think of the derivation
OF the word dollar. 1t is from the
word thai (yalley) and came into uso
In this way about three hundred years
ago. There is little silver mining
city or district in Northern Bohemia
called JoachimsthaI, or Joachim's VAL
ley, The reigning duke of the region
authorized this city In the sixteenth
century to coin a silver piece which
was called "Joachim-thaler." The
word joachim" was soon dropped.
and the name "thaler'' only retained
The piece went into general use in
Germany and Denmark. where the or
biography was changed to "daler."
whence 1t came into English and was
adopted by the Americans with sttn
further changes in spelling.
Inc Mexican dollar is generally
called "pastre" in France, and the
name is sometimes applied to the
United States dollar. The appellation
is incorrect in either case, for the
word plaster. or piastre, has for years
been only applied with correctness to