niimerä, niieessä it niimeenä

measures, weights and currencies

weights and measures in Ill Bethisad

currencies in Ill Bethisad

     The first law dealing with measures and weights in Nassina was so-called Nasëka Aansa (Nassian Hansa) from 1337, in which document king explicitelly approved the system of standards used by this merchant organisation. It was widely accepted on town markets and allowed to unify untill then wide spectrum of different measures and weights. This system was valid even after Nassina left Hansa 1532.

     New system was introduced in all Sweden administrated lands in 1665 - Svenska mått (Swedish measures). This system fully substituted the older one, although people were used to it.

     With return to Hansa, 1721, old system returned, but not for a long time. It was substituted with the Systéme International. Nassians used it since 1881 till today. These tables summarise the Nassian Hansa system and the modern one, which uses some old unit names. Measures, which were not in the old system, are not listed.

measures of length

measures of area

measures of volume

measures of weight

     1 C of water at 1 atm at 39deg (max. density of water) weighs 10 LIBRAE. Each successive twelfth of a libra or pes is named thus: sextans (2); quadrans (3); triens (4); quincunx (5); semis (6); septunx (7); bessis (8); dodrans (9); dexcunx (10); deunx (11).

Nassian coinage has two main periods: period of sirtikä (ca 1000 - 1532) and period of Taler (1532 - today), with one subperiod: mark (1532-1602).

Before sirtika had been minted, many different foreign currencies were used, like Arabic dinars, Byzantine coins etc., along with traditional currency - animal furs (sirtä in Nassian).

1000 (?) - 1532: Formerly, sirtikä was a silver coin, with only obverse coinage (reindeer head and runic inscription: isa sirtae "instead of fur"). Apparently, these were forms of credit rather then full scale coins, since furs had the "real" value. The weight of the coin was 1 lotu (12.798 g). Later, after 1156, the coin included obverse with the walking reindeer and inscription in Latin script sirtikae and reverse with three triangulary ordered circles (pellettes) and inscription redaeru nasinoe tohdu themoe(Nassian king is a father of the land). After 1255, when Nassland entered Hansa, sirtika became a golden trade coin (1 Cir of weight), whereas its usual equivalent in silver were köösetikää (tails; 1 lotu of weight), which were further divided into copper coins - pörönnikää (strips); 1 sirtikä was 30 köösetikää or 210 pörönnikää. Around 1500, one day work of hireling was for 5-7 köösetikää, whereas 1 kirvina (409.5 g) of mutton cost 3-4 pörönnikää or 1 lakka of wine (0.7686 L) cost 7-8 pörönnikää.

1532 - 1602: Swedish occupation has brought new currencies. Briefly after occupation, paralelly to sirtikä, mark system was used; 1 mark = 8 öre = 24 örtug = a number of pennings. The amount of penning per örtug varied from one region to the next. King Gustav Vasa fixed it so that the örtug was worth 12 pennings all over Sweden. In that time, approximatelly 3 marks equaled to 1 köösetikü.

1602 - 1604: In 1602, a new unit of account was introduced, the daler, worth 4 mark. Hence, 1 riksdaler = 4 mark svenska = 32 öre = 96 örtug. Pennings neither sirtikä were by this time no longer minted. The reason why it is necessary to write "mark svenska" is because it is used to distinguish it from mark danska used in Denmark-Norway (1 rigsdaler = 6 mark danske) and mark lybska used in northern Germany (1 reichsthaler = 3 mark lübische). The daler was a theoretical value of 4 mark svenska that was suppose to be equal to the international trade coin known as the reichsthaler, or riksdaler in Swedish, which was minted at the standard of "9 1/4 pieces to the Cologne mark (233.8555 g) of fine silver" (or containing 25.28 g of fine silver).

1604 - 1609: However, in 1604, the value of the mark was reduced so that there was now 4 1/2 mark svenska to the minted riksdaler. But the term "daler" was still used as a unit of account to mean 4 marks. So from then on, it was necessary to distinguish between riksdaler specie (the minted daler equal to the reichsthaler) and the riksdaler svenska kurant (the unit of account equal to 4 marks).

1609 - 1681: The riksdaler specie is now worth 6 mark svenska. The riksdaler svenska kurant is, of course, still worth (and always will be) 4 mark svenska.

1681 - 1719: The riksdaler specie is now 8 mark svenska. So 1 riksdaler specie = 2 riksdaler svenska kurant (an agio of 100%).

1719 - 1809: The riksdaler specie is now worth 12 mark svenska. So 1 riksdaler specie = 3 riksdaler svenska kurant (an agio of 200%).

1809 - 1849: Sweden unites with Denmark-Norway. This union affects economically also young kingdom. Rigsmål is introduced, so the riksdaler is now called the Rigsdaler. But the rigsdaler specie is still worth 3 rigsdaler svenske kurant, or 12 mark svenske.

1849 - today: After signing the Economical Association Treaty in 1849, Nassland has adopted the fixed exchange rate of new sirtikä to Rigsdaler: 1 Rigsdaler (9 1/4 pieces from the Cologne mark of fine silver) = 2 sarstiki. After adoption of new SI in 1881, according to the new weight of riksdaler (1.0 SI uc), also sirtikä changes (0.5 SI uc). Sirtikä was further divided to 3 köösetikää or 60 pörönnikää or 240 toolekää. This system is used till today. The actual average monthly salary in Nassina is 321 sirtikä, whereas bread of 2 lb weight costs 13 pörönnikää and 2 toolekää.