Livre parisis

The livre parisis, also known as the Paris or Parisian livre, was a medieval French coin and unit of account originally notionally equivalent to a French [units of measurement |French pound] of silver. It was the chief currency of the Capetian dynasty before being generally replaced by the livre tournois under Philip [II of France|Philip II] in the 13th century. Louis IX ceased minting it and it was finally abolished as a unit of account by Louis XIV in 1667.

Subdivision

Following the usual system of medieval Western Europe, the Paris livre was divided into 20 Paris sols based on the Roman currency|Roman] solidus or 240 Paris deniers based on the Roman denarius, 12 deniers to each sol.

History

The Paris livre was the official currency of the Capetian France of France but certain other regions of the country had the right to mint their own coins and used their own standards to do so. Philip II captured Tours and the surrounding County of Anjou from England in 1203. Although the Parisian coins were notionally worth 125% of their Tournais counterparts, the Tours livre quickly outstripped the less stable Parisian currency as a unit of account in his realms. Louis IX ceased minting the Paris livre but it continued to be used for accounting purposes in the Ile [de France|area around Paris] until its use was fully abolished by Louis XIV in 1667.