SOU (O. Fr. sol,

See also:

• LAT

Lat, solidus, sc. nummus)  , the name of the bronze 5-centime French coin, corresponding to the English " halfpenny." It is still colloquially used in France in reckoning, and the franc, 2 and 5-franc pieces are known as piece de vingt, quarante and cent sous respectively . The solidus was originally a gold coin, first struck c . A.D . 312 by Constantine to take the place of the aureus . In the Eastern Empire this gold coin was the standard down to 1453, and, as the " bezant," circulated from Portugal to the Indies . In the West after Pippin gold coinage ceased and the solidus in silver became the standard, one pound of silver making 22 sots (solidi) and 264 deniers (denarii) . Under Charlemagne one pound of silver= 20 sols= 240 deniers . The livre (libra), the sol and the denier formed the universal money of account throughout France until the Revolution; and they have left their mark on the English money Symbols s. d., for pounds, shillings and pence .