Now that Berengar had established supreme reign over the Duchy of Austria and had begun the process of incorporating the silver and gold mines from throughout the Austrian alps, he decided it was now time to introduce a national currency.
Gold was severely limited at this time. Until he could gain the vast wealth of a region like Mexico, or South Africa, he had no means to acquire a substantial sum of the coveted material as such, Berengar had decided to keep with the silver standard.
The most significant problem that the Austrian economy had faced up until this point was that the currency's production was completely localized. The size and quality of the currency entirely depended on regional rulers, and as such, it was horribly debased.
Thus Berengar had opted to revitalize the Austrian coinage and in the process make it the universal standard for trade in all of Europe, especially now that his trade reached most corners of the Mediterranean.
