Legal Definitions - measuring money

Measuring Money was a historical term referring to an additional tax or duty levied specifically on cloth in England. This extra charge increased the cost of textiles and was eventually abolished during the reign of King Henry IV.

Here are some examples illustrating how "measuring money" might have applied:

• Imagine a cloth merchant arriving at a bustling medieval port with a large shipment of fine woolen fabric from overseas. Before he could legally sell his goods in the local market, he would be required to pay the "measuring money" duty to the royal customs officials. This extra payment would either reduce his profit margin or compel him to increase the selling price of his cloth to cover the additional tax.

  This example demonstrates "measuring money" as a direct financial obligation for merchants trading in cloth, impacting their business costs and pricing strategies.

• Consider a master tailor in a busy town who needs to purchase several bolts of linen and silk to fulfill orders for wealthy clients. When he buys these materials from a local draper, the price he pays for the fabric would implicitly include the "measuring money" that the draper had already paid when acquiring the cloth. As a result, the tailor's overall cost for materials would be higher, a cost that would ultimately be passed on to his clients.

  This illustrates how "measuring money" increased the base cost of textiles, affecting professional buyers and, indirectly, the end consumers of finished garments.

• During the period when this duty was active, a designated royal official might have been stationed at a major market or a key point of trade. Their role would involve inspecting quantities of cloth being brought to market or imported, assessing the appropriate "measuring money" based on the volume or type of fabric, and then collecting this specific tax from the sellers. The collected funds would then contribute to the royal treasury.

  This example highlights the administrative and revenue-generating aspect of "measuring money," showing it as a specific tax collected by government agents from the trade of cloth.