The Carat of The Romans and Greeks
The solidus was also a Roman weight unit. There is literary evidence that the weight of 72 coins of the type called solidus was exactly 1 Roman pound, and that the weight of 1 solidus was 24 siliquae. The weight of a Roman pound is generally believed to have been 327.45 g or possibly up to 5 g less. Therefore, the metric equivalent of 1 siliqua was approximately 189 mg. The Greeks had a similar unit of the same value.
Gold fineness in carats comes from carats and grains of gold in a solidus of coin. One solidus = 24 carats, 1 carat = 4 grains, is preserved right up to this day. Woolhouse's Measures, Weights and Moneys of all Nations gives gold fineness in carats of 4 grains, and silver in (pound) of 12 ounces each 20 dwt.
Read more about this topic: Carat (mass)
Famous quotes containing the words carat, romans and/or greeks:
“The award of a pure gold medal for poetry would flatter the recipient unduly: no poem ever attains such carat purity.”
—Robert Graves (1895–1985)
“The old Romans all wished to have a king over them because they had not yet tasted the sweetness of freedom.”
—Titus Livius (Livy)
“Christianity is the religion of melancholy and hypochondria. Islam, on the other hand, promotes apathy, and Judaism instills its adherents with a certain choleric vehemence, the heathen Greeks may well be called happy optimists.”
—Franz Grillparzer (1791–1872)