This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1903 edition. Excerpt: ...and the Faerynga and Olaf Trygvaeson sagas (ch. v.) 4 Egil saga. This same Ethelred paid more than 167,000 "pounds of silver" as danegeld (Du Chaillu, ii., p. 222). Some commentators regard this to mean 167,000 pounds weight of silver bullion. Dr. Henry (Notes, 18), with more reason, makes it 167,000 money. But it is useless to conjecture what it means until we know the date when (assuming the statement to be true) the phrase "pounds of silver" was translated from its original terms. 5 Greijer. 'Ihe Ynlinga saga informs us that for a time the tax of Rome scat was collected from the people "for Odin." Very likely. But it is pretty safe to conclude that, unless he lived in Rome, Odin never got any of it. 1 "Ancient Britain," xiv., p. 5, Adam of Bremen described the temple of Upsala as being roofed with gold and filled with the greatest riches (Du Chaillu). In the ninth century the Scandinavian mark of money contained 240 grains of gold, or 1,920 grains of silver; in the thirteenth century, reign of Magnus VI., there were no gold marks, whilst the silver mark only contained about 1,200 grains. At the ratio which prevailed on the Continent these were worth I00 grains, whilst in Scandinavia they were valued at I50 _grains, of gold. In the reign of Magnus VII. (Smek), 131943, a mark weight of silver was coined into five marks of money, and half a mark was deducted for seigniorage. If this. was fine silver, each mark contained 720 grains, or about the quantity in two American or Mexican dollars of the present day; but I am inclined to believe that all these quantities were of standard metal. During this reign copper coins were first employed in Norway, and toward the close of it even...

After a century and a half of efforts at constructing arrangements and rules for international monetary interaction, present-day national authorities do not seem to have come much closer to achieving the aim of enduring exchange rate stability combined with a good macroeconomic performance. A distinguished group of economists and economic historians offers new insights into the working of the most important of such experiences, including nineteenth century bimetallism, the 'classical' gold standard, Bretton Woods and the European Monetary System.