Marsden states an equation between Marco’s values of the Notes and the actual Chinese currency, to which Biot seems to assent.  I doubt its correctness, for his assumed values of the groat or grosso and tornesel are surely wrong.  The grosso ran at that time 18 to the gold ducat or sequin, and allowing for the then higher relative value of silver, should have contained about 5_d._ of silver.  The ducat was also equivalent to 2 lire, and the tornese (Romanin, III. 343) was 4 deniers.  Now the denier is always, I believe 1/240 of the lira.  Hence the tornese would be 9/60 of the grosso.

But we are not to look for exact correspondences, when we see Polo applying round figures in European coinage to Chinese currency.

[Illustration:  Bank-Note of the Ming Dynasty]

His bezant notes, I agree with Marsden, here represent the Chinese notes for one and more ounces of silver.  And here the correspondence of value is much nearer than it seems at first sight.  The Chinese liang or ounce of silver is valued commonly at 6_s._ 7_d._, say roundly 80_d._[1] But the relation of gold and silver in civilized Asia was then (see ch.  I. note 4, and also Cathay, pp. ccl. and 442) as 10 to 1, not, as with us now, more than 15 to 1.  Wherefore the liang in relation to gold would be worth 120_d._ or 10_s._, a little over the Venetian ducat and somewhat less than the bezant or dinar.  We shall then find the table of Chinese issues, as compared with Marco’s equivalents, to stand thus:—­

CHINESE ISSUES, AS RECORDED. MARCO POLO’S STATEMENT.

For 10 ounces of silver (viz. } the Chinese Ting)[2] } 10 bezants.

For 1 ounce of silver, i.e. 1 liang, } or 1000 tsien (cash) } 1 "

For 500 tsien . . . . . . 10 groats.
    200 " . . . . . . . 5 " (should have been 4).
    100 " . . . . . . . 2 "
     50 " . . . . . . . 1 "
     30 " . . . . . . . 1/2 " (but the
          
                                     proportionate
                                               equivalent of half a groat
                                               would be 25 tsien).
     20 " . . . . . . .
     10 " . . . . . . . 1 tornesel (but the
          
                                     proportionate equivalent
                                               would be 7-1/2 tsien).
      5 " . . . . . . . 1/2 " (but prop. equivalent
                                               3-3/4 tsien).