Mark (unit) was also used as a unit of currency, e.g. in the 1087 poem "The Rime of King William" ("marks of gold"), in many Shakespearean plays set in medieval England, and in various incarnations in Germany and Finland until the adoption of the euro in 1999. Mark (unit) The Mark (from Middle High German: Marc, march, brand) is originally a medieval weight or mass unit, which supplanted the pound weight as a precious metals and coinage weight from the 11th century. The Mark is traditionally a half pound weight and was usually divided into 8 ounces or 16 Lot. The significance
International status and usage of the euro those in the eurozone, do not participate in the European Central Bank or the Euro Group. Its international usage has also grown as a trading currency, acting as an economic or political alternative to using the United States dollar. Its increasing usage in this sense has led to its becoming the only significant challenger to the US dollar as the world's main reserve currency. Several European microstates outside the EU have adopted the euro as their currency. For EU sanctioning of this adoption, a monetary agreement must be concluded. Prior to the launch of the euro, agreements were reached with