History, Wonder Tales, Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends The Flemish | Page 150

The minting of money was one of the royal prerogatives, and the officers of the
Exchange were empowered to see that no foreign coinage got into circulation in this
country, but that it was sent to the Mint for recoinage; their efforts, however, must
have been easily circumvented. For the variety of coins circulating at Calais in the
15th century see Malden, Cely Papers, xlix.
Lushburg (1346), a base coin made in imitation of the silver or sterling penny and
imported from Luxemburg in the reign of Edward III; it is the anglicized form of
Luxemburg.
Brabant (c. 1350), a base coin of Flemish manufacture circulated in England in the
13th century; from the name of the Duchy of Brabant.
Mite (c. 1350), originally a Flemish coin of very small value, a third of a penny; its first
occurrence in English is in a proverbial expression ‘not worth a mite’, so it must have
been known a long time previously before it would pass into the proverbial language;
ad. M.Du. mîte (MLG. mîte, meite, meute), something very small.
Groat (1351), though the first mention refers to the English groat coined in 1351-2 and
worth fourpence, and the word is used for the Flemish groat first in 1387, the adoption
of the Dutch or Flemish form of the word shows that the groat of the Low Countries
had circulated here before a coin of that denomination was issued by the English
sovereigns; ad. M.Du. groot, properly an elliptical use of the adjective ‘great’ in the
sense ‘thick’.
Seskyn (1413), a Dutch coin of the value of six mites; ad. M.Du. seskijn, from ses, six,
and kijn, the diminutive suffix.
Dodkin (1415), an early name for the doit, a small Dutch coin; in the 15th century
doydekyn, doykin, ad. M.Du. duytken, diminu-tive of duyt, doyt.
Plack (1473), a coin of the Netherlands of the 15th century; ad. M.Du. placke, plecke,
a small coin of Brabant and Flanders, of varying value.
Guilder (c. 1481), originally applied to a gold coin current in the Netherlands and parts
of Germany, and later to a Dutch silver coin worth 1s. 8d.; an English corrupted
pronunciation of Du. gulden (see Gulden, below).
Rider (1479, Cely Papers), a gold coin having the figure of a horseman on its obverse,
formerly current in Flanders and Holland; also a gold coin struck by James V of
Scotland, and current also in Scotland in the 15th and 16th centuries; ad. Du. and
Flem. rijder, horseman.
In the modern period the following names of Low Country coins appear.
Gulden (15.., Aberd. Reg., 1528), a gold coin, one of the various obsolete gold coins
of Germany and the Netherlands; also a silver coin of Holland, the guilder; ad. Du. and
LG. gulden, strictly an adjective, of gold, golden.
Lubish (15.., Aberd. Reg., 1563), in the phrases mark Lubish, schilling Lubish, a
denomination belonging to a money of account formerly in extensive commercial use

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