From
https://abagond.wordpress.com/2007/05/10/money-in-leonardos-time/
Leonardo da Vinci mentions money and prices in his notebooks, almost in passing. He tells how much he paid gravediggers, for instance, and how much it costs to have your fortune told.
Leonardo counted money in lire, soldi and dinari:
Like the English pound, shilling and pence, these come from the Roman system of of libra, solidus and denarius. But the money in Italy lost its value far more quickly than in England so that by Leonardo’s time the soldi had pretty much the same value as Shakespeare’s penny.
The coins that Leonardo mentions (with their rough value in metric pennies, which have 0.5 grams of silver):
The ducat was the gold coin of Venice, just as the florin was the gold coin of Florence. Both had 3.5 grams of gold and were accepted all over Europe. They are called “pieces of gold” in the Grimm stories.
The soldo and lire are silver coins. I put six lire to a florin, but in practice it was not that fixed. You might get anywhere between four to seven lire for a florin, depending on the going rate between silver and gold.
Leonardo generally got paid in ducats and florins. His income went up and down a lot, but in the long run he made about 50 to 100 ducats a year. That is equal to about a painting a year.
At the end of his life Leonardo worked for the king of France, who paid him 400 ducats a year. Compare that to Michelangelo, who got between 200 to 450 ducats for his sculptures.
One ducat was spending money for Leonardo, but for one of his students it was ten days’ pay.
In 1499, just before the fall of Milan, Leonardo had 600 ducats in the bank. In his will he gave his brother 400 ducats.
Some prices from his notebooks (in soldi):
https://abagond.wordpress.com/2007/05/10/money-in-leonardos-time/
Leonardo da Vinci mentions money and prices in his notebooks, almost in passing. He tells how much he paid gravediggers, for instance, and how much it costs to have your fortune told.
Leonardo counted money in lire, soldi and dinari:
- 1 lire = 20 soldi
- 1 soldo = 12 dinari
Like the English pound, shilling and pence, these come from the Roman system of of libra, solidus and denarius. But the money in Italy lost its value far more quickly than in England so that by Leonardo’s time the soldi had pretty much the same value as Shakespeare’s penny.
The coins that Leonardo mentions (with their rough value in metric pennies, which have 0.5 grams of silver):
- ducat (120)
- florin (120)
- Rhenish florin (120)
- scudo (110)
- grossoni (40)
- lire (20)
- carlino (4-8?)
- soldo (1)
- dinari (0.083)
The ducat was the gold coin of Venice, just as the florin was the gold coin of Florence. Both had 3.5 grams of gold and were accepted all over Europe. They are called “pieces of gold” in the Grimm stories.
The soldo and lire are silver coins. I put six lire to a florin, but in practice it was not that fixed. You might get anywhere between four to seven lire for a florin, depending on the going rate between silver and gold.
Leonardo generally got paid in ducats and florins. His income went up and down a lot, but in the long run he made about 50 to 100 ducats a year. That is equal to about a painting a year.
At the end of his life Leonardo worked for the king of France, who paid him 400 ducats a year. Compare that to Michelangelo, who got between 200 to 450 ducats for his sculptures.
One ducat was spending money for Leonardo, but for one of his students it was ten days’ pay.
In 1499, just before the fall of Milan, Leonardo had 600 ducats in the bank. In his will he gave his brother 400 ducats.
Some prices from his notebooks (in soldi):
225 a metre of velvet
140 bed
140 ring
120 to bury someone - bier, gravediggers, priests, the works
100 lined doublet
45 crockery
40 cloak
40 jerkin (up to 120)
40 pair of hose (up to 120)
30 for canvas
23 a metre of cloth (for a shirt)
22 gardener
21 sword and knife
20 anise comfits
20 cap
20 glasses
20 lock
18 for paper
16 for gravediggers to bury someone
13 shirt
13 jasper ring
11 sparkling stone
11 what a student of his could make in a day
11 to the barber
6 have your fortune told
5 pair of shoes (up to 14)
4 a dozen laces
3 rent a room for a day
3 melon
1 salad
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