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
European Currency Unit A common theme on the coins was usually celebrating European unity, such as celebrating membership of the European Union. In 1989, the government of the Netherlands issued a series of ECU coins from ₠2½ to ₠200, which could be spent in shops in The Hague, during the European Capital of Culture festival. Gibraltar issued commemorative coins from 1993 through 1996. European Currency Unit The European Currency Unit (₠ or ECU, ) was a basket of the currencies of the European Community member states, used as the unit of account of the European Community before being replaced by the euro on