Editing Shilling (section)

==History==
{{further|Coinage in Anglo-Saxon England|Denarius}}
[[File:Edward VI 77001683.jpg|thumb|English shilling minted under Edward VI, {{c.|1551}}]]
[[File:Zurich, Schilling 1640.jpeg|thumb|Schilling coin of the [[imperial city]] of [[Zürich]], minted in [[Billon (alloy)|billon]], 1640]]
[[File:IIII Schilling Hamburg Current 1728.jpg|thumb|upright|Silver 4 schilling coin, [[Hamburg]], 1728]]
The word ''shilling'' comes from [[Anglo-Saxon language|Anglo-Saxon]] phrase "Scilling", a monetary term meaning literally "twentieth of a pound", from the [[Proto-Germanic]] root [[:wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/skiljaną|skiljaną]] meaning literally "to separate, split, divide", from [[:wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/(s)kelH-|(s)kelH-]] meaning "to cut, split."{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}} The word "Scilling" is mentioned in the earliest recorded [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]] law codes, the [[Law of Æthelberht]] ({{circa|600}}).{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}}

The Germanic root of the term Shilling, [[:wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/(s)kelH-|(s)kelH-]], has been theorized to come from a foreign currency; most probably the [[Carthaginian coinage|Phoenician shekel]].{{cn|date=March 2025}} Discoveries in 2019 of antique British tin off the coasts of Israel and Turkey has confirmed probable trade between the Middle East and the British Isles.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://theconversation.com/shillings-gods-and-runes-clues-in-language-suggest-a-semitic-superpower-in-ancient-northern-europe-139381 | title=Shillings, gods and runes: Clues in language suggest a Semitic superpower in ancient northern Europe | date=5 July 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/19/uk/cornwall-tin-israel-intl-scli-gbr/index.html | title=Ancient tin found in Israel has unexpected Cornish links | website=[[CNN]] | date=19 September 2019 }}</ref>

In origin, the word ''[[wikt:schilling|schilling]]'' designated the [[Solidus (coin)|''solidus'']] of Late Antiquity, the [[gold coin]] that replaced the [[aureus]] in the 4th century. The Anglo-Saxon ''scillingas'' of the 7th century were still small gold coins.{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}}

In 796, [[Charlemagne]] passed a monetary reform, based on the Carolingian silver pound (about 406.5 grams). The ''schilling'' was one-twentieth of a pound or about 20.3 grams of silver. One ''schilling'' had 12 [[denarius|''denarii'']] or [[French denier|''deniers'']] ("pennies"). There were, however, no silver ''schilling'' coins in the Carolingian period, and gold ''schillings'' (equivalent to twelve silver ''[[pfennig]]s'') were very rare.{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}}

In the 12th century, larger silver coins of multiple ''pfennig'' weight were minted, known as ''denarii grossi'' or ''[[groschen]]'' ([[Groat (coin)|groat]]s). These heavier coins were valued at between 4 and 20 of the silver ''denarii''. In the late medieval period, states of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] began minting similar silver coins of multiple ''pfennig'' weight, some of them denominated as ''schilling''.{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}}

In the 16th century, numerous different types of ''schilling'' were minted in [[Europe]]. The [[Shilling (English coin)|English shilling]] was a successor of the testoon coin first minted during the reign of [[Edward VI of England|Edward VI]] in 1551, which consisted of 92.5% "sterling" silver.{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}}

By the 17th century, further devaluation resulted in ''schillings'' in the [[Holy Roman Empire]] being minted in [[billon (alloy)|billon]] (majority base metal content) instead of [[silver]], with 48 ''schillings'' to one ''[[Reichsthaler]]''. The English (later British) shilling continued to be minted as a silver coin until 1946, although the silver content was debased from 1920 onwards.{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}}