Apothecaries' system between actual and nominal weight. In the 19th century, most European countries or cities still had at least a "commercial" or "civil" system (such as the English avoirdupois system) for general trading, and a second system (such as the troy system) for precious metals such as gold and silver. The system for precious metals was usually divided in a different way from the commercial system, often using special units such as the carat. More significantly, it was often based on different weight standards. The apothecaries' system often used the same ounces as the precious metals system, although even then the
Trade during the Viking Age so there was no danger of them being rearranged or switched during the course of an exchange. Estimated exchange rates at the beginning of the 11th century in Iceland were: If the weight of a piece of jewelry was more than needed to complete a purchase, it was cut up into smaller bits until the correct weight needed for the transaction was reached. The term hack silver is used to describe these silver objects. Silver ingots were primarily used for large/high-value transactions. The largest found weights weigh more than 1 kilogram each. Precious metals were also used to display personal