What could a person who lived in medieval times get for a single gold coin in 13th century? How valuable is it? I know coins differ greatly in weight and value, as well as place to place. so lets just place it in 13th century England. What would be the equivalent in modern money?
For those readers who, like me, were born after the English currency was decimalized, it is worth pointing out that sterling used to be measured in pounds, shillings, and pence: twelve pennies made a shilling, and twenty shillings made a pound. ... In Edward I's day an unskilled labourer could earn one or two pence for a day's work, while a skilled craftsman might earn double that sum. A man who took home £20 a year would have been considered very well off...^1
Now, the Florentine florin was nominally worth £20, though the English pound sterling was 6.25% lighter than the continental equivalent, unless it was minted for trade, in which case the two weights may be equal.
Someone at UC Davis has made a price list, do note (as the author has) that most goods would have been made in a household and not bought, that inflation was severe in the 13th century, and that the prices come from a wide spread of years.^2 Generally speaking, a single Florentine florin is enough to kit yourself as a knight, though the actual value of the gold by weight is only $143.50 US currently.