according to a standard derived from the gold weight, somewhat as follows:—
Gold was to silver as 13·3:1. This proportion made it difficult to weigh both metals on the same standard. That a round number of silver shekels or staters might equal a gold shekel or stater, the weight of the silver shekel was either raised above or lowered below that of the gold. The heavy gold shekel weighed 260 grains Troy, being the double of the light gold shekel, which weighed 130 grains Troy (8·4 grammes).
The Silver Standards derived from the Gold Shekel .
I. From the heavy gold shekel of 260 grains:
| 260 × 13·3 | = | 3458 grains of silver. |
|---|---|---|
| 3458 grains of silver | = | 15 shekels of 230 grains each. |
On the silver shekel of 230 grains the Phoenician or Graeco-Asiatic silver standard may be constructed:
| Talent | = | 690,000 | grains | = | 3000 | staters (or shekels). |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mina | = | 11,500 | grains | = | 50 | staters. |
| Stater | = | 230 | grains. |