There were a variety of coins of lower value in the Levant called Bezants,[11] but these do not occur in our Book.
The Venice Saggio, a weight for precious substances was ⅙ of an ounce, corresponding to the weight of the Roman gold solidus, from which was originally derived the Arab Misḳál. And Polo appears to use saggio habitually as the equivalent of Misḳál. His pois or peso, applied to gold and silver, seems to have the same sense, and is indeed a literal translation of Misḳál. (See vol. ii. [p. 41].)
For measures Polo uses the palm rather than the foot. I do not find a value of the Venice palm, but over Italy that measure varies from 9½ inches to something over 10. The Genoa Palm is stated at 9·725 inches.
Jal (Archéologie Nav. I. 271) cites the following Table of
Old Venice Measures of Length.
| 4 fingers | = | 1 handbreadth. |
| 4 handbreadths | = | 1 foot. |
| 5 feet | = | 1 pace. |
| 1000 paces | = | 1 mile. |
| 4 miles | = | 1 league. |
[1] See (Dupré de St. Maur) Essai sur les Monnoies, &c. Paris, 1746, p. xv; and Douet d’Arcq, pp. 5, 15, &c.
[2] He takes the silver value of the gros Tournois (the sol of the system) at 0·8924 fr., whence the Livre = 17·849 fr. And the gold value of the golden Agnel, which passed for 12½ sols Tournois, is 14·1743 fr. Whence the Livre = 22·6789 fr. Mean = 20·2639 fr.