money in middle earth

[Formendacil]

Originally Posted by A_Brandybuck

Sorry, but I don't get it. What part exactly means, that The tharni may thus have been equivalent to the silver pennies of Eriador ?

Tolkien never said that... Michael Martinez said that, based on the assumption- fairly valid- that silver coins in one place (Eriador) would have been worth roughly the same as silver coins elsewhere (Gondor). The quotes about the tharni and Butterbur's pennies are where we get the idea of the two silver currencies from in the first place.

Also, since the currency used in the Shire and Bree is undoubtedly Arnorian in origin, and since Arnor and Gondor likely had similar currencies, it seems likely to assume that since Gondor only had one denomination of money cast in silver, that it would be equivalent to the silver pennies of the North (why call them silver if another coin were made of silver?).

But if you're looking for a quote by Tolkien that says "Silver pennies = tharni", then you are doomed to failure.