Abstract
This chapter examines the use of cattle as currency in Ireland. Although foreign coins found their way into the country, no Irish coins were known to have been minted until the Danish invasion. Cattle remained a preferred means of payment and also a unit of account throughout the Middle Ages. Bondsmaids (kumals) also continued to be used as a medium of exchange and standard of value during the Middle Ages. The ratio between slave girls and cows was fixed at three cows per head. There are many instances to show that the practice of using precious metals by weight as currency continued during the Middle Ages. Rings are believed to have circulated as currency down to the 11th or 12th century. According to Betham these rings were all standard weight. Their use as a substitute for coins may account for the fact that very few ancient coins have been found in Ireland.
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