The ceiniog ( la, denarius; en, penny; plural: ''ceiniogau'') was the basic currency of the medieval
Welsh kingdoms such as
Gwynedd
Gwynedd (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the North West Wales, north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County B ...
and
Deheubarth.
Hywel Dda was the only ruler recorded as minting his own proper coins; however, the ceiniog was not a coin but a value of silver. The "legal penny" ( la, denarius legalis; cy, ceiniog cyfreith) was the weight of 32 wheat grains in silver; the "curt penny" ( cy, ceiniog cwta), the weight of 24 wheat grains. The latter was based on the old
Roman pound; the former,
Charlemagne's and
Offa's. The Welsh half-penny was the dymey of 12 wheat grains (roughly ⅓ the "legal penny")
[Lewis, Timothy. ]
A glossary of mediaeval Welsh law, based upon the Black book of Chirk
'. Univ. Press (Manchester), 1913. and the farthing (quarter-penny) was the firdlyc of 6.
[Lewis, p]
150
Since the value in ceiniogau of most common goods and animals were regulated by the
Laws of Hywel Dda, the system also simplified
barter
In trade, barter (derived from ''baretor'') is a system of exchange in which participants in a transaction directly exchange goods or services for other goods or services without using a medium of exchange, such as money. Economists dist ...
in Wales.
References
Medieval currencies
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