The cause of the advantage was the depreciation of the silver denomination, from the aggregate of which was formed the lira, in which was expressed the value of the gold florin.[23]
For illustration:—
In 1464—
120 fiorini di suggello = 100 fiorini d'oro larghi at 4 lire 8 sol. 4 den. each = 530 lire.
Therefore each fiorino d'oro largo ought to = 5 lire 6 sol., which by the tables of the time it actually did.
Similarly, in 1501—
100 fiorini larghi d'oro in oro = 119 larghi di grossi at 5 lire 11 sol. 4 den. = 660 lire.
Therefore fiorino largo d'oro in oro should = 6 lire 12 sol. which it actually did.
The silver monies of Florence were based on the silver florin = 1⁄20 of gold florin (= 38 1⁄2 grains).