1. Teutonic Systems of Weight
The German and Norse pounds are of three types:
1. The pound of the Cologne mark, the double marc, = 7216 grains, its ounce = 451 grains. This was the standard of the old Tower weight of the English mints. It coincides with the Arabic lesser rotl, 1/100 of the Cantar of Al-Mamūn (= 102·92 lb.).
Its modern type is, or was, the pound of Prussia and Hanover = 7218 grains, 1/100 of the Centner = 103·11 lb. It was defined as 1/66 of the weight of a Rhineland cubic foot of water (see [next chapter]).
2. The Troy pound, of variable standard, from 7705 grains (ounce = 481·5 grs.) in Denmark, and as high as 483 grains in Sweden, to 7595 grains (ounce = 474·7 grs.) in Holland. Even in Holland there is another standard, that of the Amsterdam pound, 7625 grains (ounce = 476·7 grs.), the medium standard of Troy weight, = 10 Egyptian dirhems of 47·6 grains.
3. The Nuremburg pound = 7390 grains, its ounce = 462 grains. As the 12-oz. pound of apothecaries’ weight, it is = 5522 grains, its ounce = 460·2 grains. This pound is derived from the 8-ounce peso di marco of Venice = 3695 grains. The Venice ounce, = 460·2 grains, was divided into 144 carats of 3·19609 grains. This ounce was 8 centesimal drachmæ of the Arabic lesser rotl = 5763 grains, when divided on the Greek system into 100 drachmæ of 57·63 grains, instead of on the uncial system, so that 8 × 57·63 = 461·04 grains. This is the apparent basis of the Venetian marc-ounce and the Nuremburg ounce.
As the Marc was 2/3 of the classic 12-oz. pound, the word came to mean 2/3 of a pound, either weight or coin; it probably came from ‘San Marco’ of Venice.
German and Scandinavian ounces were usually divided into 2 loths or half-ounces, 8 quentchen and 16 Pfenning.
In Holland the mint-ounce was of 20 Engels, each of 32 Azen. ‘Engel’ is the English sterling or dwt.; the Aas is an ace, a light grain = 0·7417 grain.
The Baltic Skippund. This ship-pound was 20 lispund, of either 20 light or 16 heavy pounds: