The History of the Medici Banks
The video says a bill of exchange is a written order to pay money in another place, often in another currency.
Video coming soon. The lesson video will appear here once it is published on YouTube.
Check yourself: sample questions
Think about each question, pick what you would answer if you like, then select “Show answer” to see the solution and why. Nothing is graded or sent to us. Example numbers are worked examples, not predictions.
1.What was a bill of exchange?
The video says a bill of exchange is a written order to pay money in another place, often in another currency.
2.What was the florin?
In 1252 Florence minted its own gold coin, the florin, of 3.53 grams of pure gold (Banca d'Italia).
3.Roughly how much gold was in about 250,000 florins at 3.53 grams each?
250,000 times 3.53 grams is 882,500 grams, close to 900 kilos of gold a year (own calculation).
Full course: 5 more questions for this lesson
The full course unlocks all self-check questions of all 365 lessons, the daily plan, your progress and the printable learning record. Lessons 1 to 7 are completely free.
See the full course Start the free week
Already bought? Open the course on this device
Sources (5)
- Banca d'Italia (Fabio Panetta): Money and Trust: From the Renaissance to the Digital Age (Rede, 29. October 2025)
- Wikipedia: Medici Bank (nur Wegweiser; stuetzt sich auf Raymond de Roover 1948/1963/1966
- PBS Empires: The Medici - Godfathers of the Renaissance, 'The Bankers'
- Eigene Berechnung (Python)
- Raymond de Roover: The Rise and Decline of the Medici Bank, 1397-1494 (Harvard Studies in Business History 21, Harvard University Press 1963), Katalogeintrag CiNii
Education only. Not financial advice.