Page:Origin of metallic currency and weight standards.djvu/148

 the form of the Phoenician gold standard, which we found above was employed by the Carthaginians both in Sicily and Africa; in other words it may be maintained that the Gauls followed the standard on which the Phocaeans of Massalia struck their silver coinage. As, however, the coins of Massalia were drachms of about 55 grains the probability is not very high that the Gauls had no gold standard of their own for gold until they got one from the silver of Marseilles.

The Teutonic tribes who likewise issued imitations of the Philippus also followed a standard of 120 grs. for coins, from which it is likely that they as well as the Gauls employed a unit of 120 grs. for gold before they ever began to strike money.

We have now taken a survey of the most ancient gold standards we can find throughout the wide regions through which the common system of weights of after years prevailed, extending in our range from the heart of Asia to the shores of the Atlantic.

Our results will best be seen in the following table:

Grains. Egyptian gold ring standard                        127 Mycenaean                                        130-5 Homeric talent (or "Ox-unit")                    130-5 Attic gold stater (the sole standard for gold)     135 Thasos                                             135 Rhodes                                             135 Cyzicus                                            130 Hebrew standard                                    130 Persian Daric                                      130 Macedonian stater                                  135 Bactrian stater                                  130-2 Indian standard (7th cent. )                   140 Phoenician gold unit (double)                      260 Carthaginian                                       120 Sicily and Lower Italy                           130-5 Etruscan                                         130-5 Gaulish unit                                       120 German                                             120