2002-02-28 I think people reading the article about the Lira being equal to the pound would immediately associate that pound with the UK/US pound of today. As part of our promotion of SI, bringing up the history of the old units and how they varied helps make the old units look foolish.
What is the value of the gros and was the grain used in France the same grain used in the US? John ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joseph B. Reid" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, 2002-02-28 21:03 Subject: [USMA:18462] Re: Mending the Metric Muddle > Kilopascal asked in USMA 18459: > > >It would be interesting to know how many grams that one pound of silver was > >equal to that was the basis of the Lira. As we all know, the pound varied > >so much from place to place, only a clarification in grams would give > >insight as to how much the lira was intended to weigh. > > > The livre (mass) varied across France from 380 to 550 grams. The kilogram > was found to be 2 livres 5 gros 49 grains, from which I calculated, after > some dubious effort, that that livre was 489 grams. I have no idea if that > livre was the mass of the monetary silver livre that was used before the > Revolution and the establishment of the franc. > > The lira probably had a similar history before inflation, based on some > Italian pound. > > Joseph B.Reid > 17 Glebe Road West > Toronto M5P 1C8 TEL. 416-486-6071 >
