The tornesel, tornesol, or was a
silver coin of Europe in the
Late Middle Ages and the
early modern era. It took its name from the ', the of
Tours.
Marco Polo
Marco Polo (, , ; 8 January 1324) was a Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known as ''Book of the Marv ...
referred to the tornesel in recounts of his travels to East Asia when describing the currencies of the
Yuan Empire.
[ Henry Yule]
''The Travels of Marco Polo: The Complete Yule-Cordier Edition''
Third edition (1903), revised and updated by Henri Cordier. Plain Label Books. p. 1226-27. () His descriptions were based on the conversion of 1
bezant = 20
groats = tornesel.
The ' was a subunit of the
Neapolitan,
Sicilian, and
Two Sicilies ducats.
References
Medieval Italy
Medieval currencies
Coins of Italy
Silver coins
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