Mancus (sometimes spelt mancosus or similar, from Arabic manqūsh منقوش) was a term used in early medieval Europe to denote either a gold coin, a weight of gold of 4.25g (equivalent to the Islamic gold dinar,[1] and thus lighter than the Byzantine solidus), or a unit of account of thirty silver pence. This made it worth about a month's wages for a skilled worker, such as a craftsman or a soldier.[2] Distinguishing between these uses can be extremely difficult: the will of the Anglo-Saxon king Eadred, who died in 955, illustrates the problem well with its request that "two thousand mancuses of gold be taken and minted into mancuses" (nime man twentig hund mancusa goldes and gemynetige to mancusan).[3]
- ^ Grierson 2007, p.327
- ^ Reynolds, Nigel (2006-02-09). "A month's wages in one mancus". The Telegraph.
- ^ Charter S 1515 at the Electronic Sawyer