Imperial and US customary measurement systems different concepts – the imperial gallon is defined in terms of the volume occupied by a specified mass of water, while the US gallon is specified in terms of cubic linear measure. Notes Notes Units of weight in both the imperial and US customary system always used the same standard, though differences in multiples of the avoirdupois pound developed in the nineteenth century. Both systems used the three different scales – the avoirdupois system for general use, the troy system for precious metals and the apothecaries system in the pharmacy industry. The term "weight" and "mass" are used interchangeably in
Money and at one point there was bronze as well. Now we have copper coins and other non-precious metals as coins. Metals were mined, weighed, and stamped into coins. This was to assure the individual taking the coin that he was getting a certain known weight of precious metal. Coins could be counterfeited, but they also created a new unit of account, which helped lead to banking. Archimedes' principle provided the next link: coins could now be easily tested for their fine weight of metal, and thus the value of a coin could be determined, even if it had been shaved,