Mark (unit)

The Mark ( MHG marc, march, mark ) is originally a medieval weight or mass unit, which displaced the pound as precious metals and coin weight from the 11th century. The Mark is traditionally a half pounds and was usually divided into 8 ounces or 16 solder. The significant in the German speaking Cologne mark corresponds to about 234 g

Word origin

The etymological dictionary of Kluge leads the word in Germanic marka ' weight and value unit ", originally " division, Shared " back; that of Pfeifer called Old High German marc ' boundary, sign " as a starting word and believed that thus marc said first embossing and only secondarily the bars and most recently described the coins made ​​therefrom.

After a trade lexicon of 1848, the term weight marrow should be because " the metal piece, which is made ​​use of for weighing, was provided with a character or a brand ." Meyers encyclopedia of 1905 results like the word origin back to the origin of marrow from the Roman pound to 11 ounces. Charlemagne had performed as a Frankish king of the end of the 8th century, a coin and Maßreform. Notably he was introduced as the basic coin and avoirdupois Karl pounds, but was only 8 ounces heavy. In order to prevent a further reduction of the weight of a pound, the new weights is now a sign, a mark has been stamped. For a later than marca known weight to find masses between 196 g and 280 g

Cologne mark

Until the Middle Ages there were still many different regional variants of Mark as a measure of weight or mass. The Cologne mark there since the 11th century and was the half of the Cologne pound. They gained great importance for the coinage.

First, the Cologne mark had less significance than the Carolingian silver pounds, ie as the Karl pounds, which was the basis of the Carolingian coinage system. The ratio of the Cologne mark for Karl pounds is 576:1000. The Elector of Trier, Cologne, Mainz and the Palatinate founded in 1386 the first Rhenish coinage, according to its specifications of the Rhenish gold florins was coined. After the date set by the Rhenish florins were minted coinage coinage standard 66 of a Cologne mark of gold. Model was the coined since 1252 Florin. Due to the success of this character and the economic importance of the Rhenish Minting won the Cologne Mark as Münzgewicht national significance.

Beginning of the 16th century, new silver deposits were discovered in Central Europe. It could now be reinforced embossed silver coins from the coin in Joachimsthal (now Jáchymov ) in particular Taler. A silver dollars should be the precious metal value according to the widely throughout Europe Golddukat same. This was achieved by first calculated, how much is the value of a gold silver Dukaten. Then the Cologne mark weight was divided by the corresponding number in dollars. The order issued by Emperor Charles V in Esslingen first imperial coinage introduced in 1524, the Fine ( Cologne ) Mark officially in the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation as a binding Münzgewicht.

All crowns, florins, ducats and coinage was henceforth in legal parlance - compared to the Mark as counting measure - for the sake of that computing habits that did not know the decimal system. For example, according to the pattern:

The Munich-based coinage, the coinage of the Süddeutsche was founded took as "Mark weight " of the coins to be stamped at 235.855 g. This corresponds to the value of the Prussian Cologne Mark.

It was included in Munich Coinage been described in a new mass units of the international decimal system, the gram, the Cologne Mark, used the Vienna Coinage 1857 complete metric sizes. Reference value for the monetary standard is now the duty pound of 500 grams to stamp out the 30 dollars were.

Regional characteristics of the Mark

The 1524 set Mark had time and region small to large weight differences, so that for example, the Cologne, Nuremberg marrow or even the Paris Mark were not equal overweight. These differences were resolved by contract in Germany until the 19th century. The deterioration of the quality of money since the tipper and Wipperzeit entered against Frederick II of Prussia. Under his rule were mandatory from a Cologne mark 14 Prussian thaler marked ( Graumann shear monetary standard, named after the Prussian mint director J. P. Graumann ), adopted by many North German states. Maria Theresa moved to and put an also on the Cologne mark based monetary standard on the basis of the Convention thaler, which many South German states took over. In the Dresden Coinage from 1838 Coins of the so-called club marrow were then in all countries of the Customs Union on the basis of the " Prussian Cologne mark ," authentic.

Deviations of some regional values ​​of the Mark by today's arbitrary, seven - smooth value of the Cologne mark to exactly 234.1011456 grams.

Subdivisions of the Mark

For Gold

The Goldmark weighs 24 carat gold equal to 288 Goldgrän. So you also weighs 4608 Korngrän. A gold Gran corresponds exactly to the 500th part of a Carolingian pound. The gold carat and the ordinary carat - four Korngrän - entertain the ratio of 1:48.

For silver and its Kupferbeilegierungen

For silver and its Kupferbeilegierungen, thus also for the common money, the following values ​​were considered. Ounces were not embossed. The embossed Loth called chunk, as the embossed ounce, also called the drachma, the cruiser was. Directional counters were never pronounced.

A silver cord is 8 ounces = 16 ounces = 64 ounce = 256 Pfennig = 512 Heller = 4608 Korngrän and equal to 65 536 directional penny.

Different weights Mark

* In practice, with a weight point of 3125: 3136th Therefore, the theoretical Prague Mark weighs exactly 253.125 g The empirical value of 253.17 g only 0.018 % higher.

** The Cologne mark is derived from a very slight Karl pounds to about 405.924 g, the Dutch Mark, however, by a rather severe Karl pounds to about 406.885 g Therefore, the actual ratio of the Dutch Mark opposite the Cologne mark in modern times was often no longer recognized correctly and then often given as 20:19. Derivatives with such large prime numbers such as 13, 17 or 19 came in - on highly composite numbers oriented toward - old weights and measures has been proven but not before.