Denier Público Deposited
A silver and billon coin, corresponding to the Penny, and current throughout Western Europe from the time of the Merovingian Dynasty.
The name is derived from the Denarius, which it resembled in size and fabric; and the Danaro, Dinero, Dinar, and Dinheiro, are modifications of the same coin, employed according to the country or territory where this type was in circulation.
Its value fluctuated; under Charlemagne's reforms of the monetary system 240 Deniers were ordered to be struck from one pound of fine silver, and the Denier was valued at one twelfth of the Solidus. When the Gros Tournois and later the Gros Parisis appeared, the same ratio of twelve to one was retained for the Denier, and it was styled Denier Tournois or Deniere Parisis according to the place of mintage. In the reign of Louis XVI the base silver Denier was worth only one eighth or one tenth as much as the fine silver on eof Charlemagne.
Last of all the Denier was struck in copper and its value diminished still more. Frederick the Great issued it in this metal for Upper Silesia in 1746; the copper Denier of France was equal to four Liards, or the twelfth part of the Sol or Sou.
- Frey's Dictionary (American Journal of Numismatics, Vol. 50, 1916)