The word mark (from an apparently non-Teutonic word found in all Teutonic and Romance languages, and Latinized as marca or marcus) originally expressed a measure of weight only for gold and silver, commonly used throughout western Europe and equivalent to 8 oz (ounces). Considerable variations, however, occurred throughout the Middle ages (see du Cange, Gloss. med. et infim. Lat., s.v. Marca for a full list). The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... Charles du Fresne, sieur du Cange or Ducange (Amiens, December 18, 1610 – Paris, October 23, 1688) was a distinguished philologist and historian of the Middle Ages and Byzantium. ...

In England the "mark" never appeared as a coin, but as a money of account only, and apparently came into use in the 10th century through the Danes. It first equalled 100 pence, but after the Norman Conquest equalled 160 pennies = 2/3 of the Pound Sterling, or 13s. 4d., and therefore in Scotland 31s. 2d. (due to the lower value of the Scottish Pound) Above: A variety of coins considered to be lower-value, including an Irish 2p piece and many US pennies. ... Bayeux Tapestry depicting events leading to the Battle of Hastings The Norman Conquest of England was the conquest of the Kingdom of England by William the Conqueror (Duke of Normandy), in 1066 at the Battle of Hastings and the subsequent Norman control of England. ... Jump to: navigation, search The pound sterling is the official currency of the United Kingdom (UK). ... Pound Scots was the national unit of currency in the Kingdom of Scotland before the country entered into a political and currency union with England in 1707. ...

The mark (merk) Scots comprised a silver coin of this value, issued first in 1570 and afterwards in 1663. // Events Prix de Rome scholarship established for students of the arts. ...

In northern Germany (especially Hamburg) and Scandinavia, the mark was a unit of account and coin worth 16 schilling or skilling. Jump to: navigation, search Hamburg is Germanys second largest city (after Berlin) and, with the Hamburg Harbour, its principal port. ... Jump to: navigation, search Scandinavia, Fennoscandia, and the Kola Peninsula. ... The Schilling was the currency of Austria until the Euro exchange in 2002. ... Jump to: navigation, search The skilling was the Scandinavian equivalent of the schilling or shilling. ...

Germany adopted the mark as its currency following unification in 1871. This first mark came to be known as the papiermark during the hyperinflation which it suffered up to 1923. A new mark was introduced, called the rentenmark (worth 1,000,000,000,000 papiermark), swiftly replaced by the reichsmark in 1924. Papiermark (German: Paper mark) was the nickname for the banknotes issued during the hyperinflation in Germany in 1922 and mainly 1923. ... A 1,000,000,000 (1 billion) Mark banknote, issued in Bavaria/Germany during the hyperinflation of 1923 (http://www. ... The Rentenmark was a currency issued in November 1923 to stop the hyperinflation (1922 & 1923) in Germany. ... A 100 Reichsmark banknote from Germany of 1935 (http://www. ...

The Deutsche mark was introduced by the western allies in their zones of occupation in 1948, with the Soviets issuing their own Deutsche mark (often refered to as the East German mark or Ostmark, later officially called the "Mark der DDR") later that same year. The Deutsche Mark (DM, DEM) was the official currency of West and, from 1990, unified Germany. ... The East German mark (German language: Mark der DDR) commonly called Ostmark, Eastern mark, was the currency of East Germany. ...

See also

• British coinage

This article incorporates text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, which is in the public domain. This article concerns British coinage, the coinage of the United Kingdom. ... Jump to: navigation, search Supporters contend that the Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (1910-1911) represents the sum of human knowledge at the beginning of the 20th century; indeed, it was advertised as such. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...