Page:Origin of metallic currency and weight standards.djvu/177

 It will be noticed that the first-mentioned is simply the standard of the Chinese picul of 133-1/3 lbs. English, whilst the others are native.

In Annam we found that the ingots of gold and silver, consisting of ten luongs or nails, were called nên. The luong was equal in weight to the Chinese liung, and Cambodian tomlong, and was also called dinh (dinh-bac, nail of silver), thus being identical with the ten denh into which the Cambodian nên or bar is divided.

In Laos we again find the Chinese picul as the highest weight unit. It is divided into 100 catties (here called Chang) of 600 grammes each (1-1/3 lb. Eng.).

1 picul          = 100 catties. 1 catty (chang) = 10 damling (60 grammes). 1 damling        = 4 bat (15 grammes). 1 bat            = 4 chi (3·75 grammes). 1 chi            = 10 hun.

All these or their equivalents are used as money of account. "If there is but little coin in Laos," says M. Aymonier, "there are monies of account in abundance." In the south-west of the country, Bassak and Attopoeu, Cambodian currency is employed, and they count by the nên or bar of silver.

1 nên = 10 denhs (money of account). 1 denh = 10 strings of cash.

The string is also money of account and is worth the same as the string of Annam, which is equal to the sling or Siamese franc (which is worth 75 or 80 centimes). The nên is also divided into 100 chi, and as there are 100 strings in the nên, the string of cash is equivalent to a chi of silver (3·75 gram.). The Siamese coins known also to Cambodia were the weight and money units of the ancient Cambodians, who probably weighed their precious metals. In Laos all of them except the tical are only monies of account. The tical or bat which under the ancient round form was called clom in Cambodia is