Note 702 — Chapter XV

The “Fiorino largo di Galea,” or “Broad Galley-piece,” was struck of the exact size and weight of the Venetian ducat, A.D. 1422. See Napier, “Flor. Hist.” iii. p. 56, and further details of the “Metallic Currency of Florence,” vol. iv. p. 9. It may be added that the gold coin—at first so unpopular in England—struck by Edward III. in A.D. 1344, is generally believed to have been made to facilitate trade with Florence.—Cf. Rymer, Fœd. V. v. p. 403, &c.