His POIS or PESO, applied to
gold and silver, seems to have the same sense, and is indeed a literal
translation of Miskal. (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 9-1/2
inches to something over 10. The Genoa Palm is stated at 9.725 inches.
Jal (Archeologie 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 (Dupre 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 12-1/2 sols Tournois, is 14.1743 fr. Whence
the Livre = 22.6789 fr. Mean = 20.2639 fr.