Monetary History of England Part III 600-1153 AD by Martin A. Armstrong The Anglo Saxon Period c 600-c. 775 During the late 6th century AD, the island of Britain began to undergo a rebirth. Renewed political, cultural and commercial links again start to emerge with the kingdom of the Merovingian Franks. Small quantities of Merovingian gold tremisses have […]

Monetary History of England Part I 2nd century BC – 599 AD by Martin A. Armstrong The Birth of the British Monetary System The earliest forms of money in Britain have taken several mediums based upon commodity values. However, Celtic bronze rings are quite common in Britain and served as a medium of exchange. Money […]

Monetary History of Sweden Eric the Victorious (c. 945 – c. 995) was a Swedish monarch who is recognized as the first real king of Sweden. There were earlier Swedish kings, but Eric was the first Swedish king who established a line of succession. Eric became known as the Victorious after defeating an invasion force […]

Monetary History of Spain Ferdinand & Isabella Historical Outline Pre 237 BC Carthaginian Period Roman Period Visigothic Period Kings of Visigothic Spain, 567-714 Liuva I 567-572 Leovigild 568-586 Hermenegild (usurper) 579-584 Reccared I 586-601 Liuva II 601-603 Witteric 603-609 Gundemar 609-612 Sisebut 612-621 Reccared II 621 Swinthila 621-631 Judila (pretender)`631 Sisenand 631-636 Chintila 636-639 Tulga […]

Monetary History of Russia The Russian Monetary System began also with cattle (skot) during the Kievan period. Skins of small animals and precious metals were used as fixed-value exchange rate based upon barter goods. Up until the end of the 12th century, cattle was the unit of account but commerce took place with the skins […]

Monetary History of Japan As legend has it, Japan was founded around 660BC by a direct descendent of the Sun Goddess. It is from this basic legend that Japan derives the name of “Land of the Rise Sun.” Japan has a long monetary history which dates back to when coins were first introduced from neighboring Korea […]

Monetary History of France   The French Revolution erupted out of a major debt crisis thanks to the government’s reckless borrowing. France was threatened with insurmountable debt that brought the economy to its knees. The people were plunged into starvation and revolts began in the countryside.  King Louis XVI (1754 – 1793) convened the French […]

Historical Chronology of Greece 10,000-30 BC 1) Early Greece 10,000-1000 BC 2) Mycenaean Greece 2000-1000 BC 3) Dark Age Greece 1000-800 BC 4) Hellenic Greece 800-350 BC 5) Archaic Greece 800-500 BC 6) Classical Greece 500-350 BC 7) Hellenistic Greece 350-330 BC Early Greece10,000-1,000 BC 10,000 BC Paleolithic Greece – rudimentary existence6,000 BC Neolithic Greece – farming, villages3,000 BC Migrations of Indo-Europeans […]

Monetary History of Macedonia Philip II (382-336 BC) Philip II of Macedonia (382-336 BC) was king of Macedonia between 359 and 336 BC. and father of Alexander the Great. Philip was born in the city of Pella, which was the capital of ancient Macedonia. Philip II was held as a hostage by the rival Greek […]

Check out the newest updates to the Research page: “A Brief History of Paper Money” & “The Euro.”  Also check out the completed Roman Empire section of The Monetary History of the World. More updates to the site coming soon. Check back frequently!