Study title

The study is part of the MEMDB - Medieval and Early Modern Data Base. The Medieval and Early Modern Data Bank is a project of Rutgers University and was originally co-financed by the Research Libraries Group (RLG). The aim is to provide information on the European history of the Middle Ages and early modern times (ca. 800-1815 AD). MEMDB contains five large datasets, three on currency and exchange systems and two on prices. The data set on the currencies of the European regions of R. Metz reconstructs for 29 cities and regions in Europe - mainly for the Lower Rhine region - the monetary and currency systems and their value changes, expressed in gold or silver equivalents, for the given period of the late Middle Ages and early modern times. For this purpose, the author provided a complete review of money rates, currency coins, and arithmetic money systems, as well as a description of the structure and mode of operation of functional coin currency systems. The dichotomy existing in early modern currency systems between the arithmetic money, which in its function was a unit of measurement and count, and the circulating coinage as a means of value preservation and payment is an essential characteristic of these currency systems. Therefore, only the correct representation of the various calculation money systems makes it possible to understand the relationship between prices and money for the period under consideration. The calculation was carried out with the help of arithmetic money, and values were fixed and goods valued. The fine-weight equivalents of the calculation money are the basic data for the conversion of the nominal price data from the period into grams of precious metal, but they also serve as a measure of the value of the calculation money itself. The data were collected by the author in the context of his dissertation. The data provided here in this study are taken from the MEMDB database and organized according to cities and European regions in...