Note 6 — BOOK II. CONCERNING THE CONDUCT OF CAUSES.
S. P. (Samuel Parsons) Scott translation
The coins principally in use among the Visigoths were those of the Byzantine Empire at that epoch, as follows:—Gold, The Libra, or pound, twelve ounces in weight, and divided into seventy-two Tremisæ, or twenty-four Siliqæ; and Silver, The Libra, containing twenty Solidi, and the Solidus, containing twenty Denarii of copper. The smaller coins, of which there were many, were those of ancient Rome, and of the Eastern Empire.
The Libra of gold was worth $368, and the one of silver worth $88, or, at the present value of money, $4,048, and $968, respectively. The Solidus ($56 gold, and $44 silver,) was the standard coin in circulation.
The gold Tremisa was the only coin struck by the royal mints during the Visigothic domination. Heavily alloyed, rude in design, and coarse in execution, these clumsy medals disclose the primitive conditions of the numismatic art of the period, being notably inferior to the contemporary examples of Byzantine coinage, themselves far below the artistic models of ancient Rome.
The severe fines imposed under the Visigothic Code, and whose non-payment generally involved the alternative of perpetual servitude, often caused the financial ruin of the offender.