II.   Sovereign

The Scrupal, also known as Scruple is the first and most ancient form of standard “international” currency (money) in civilized history first formed by the Cuilliaéan (Holly). The scruple remains the oldest form of measure still used in present day weights and measures.

The standard manufacture of "Scrupal" from around four thousand five hundred (4,500) years ago was created by cutting rods of gold into standard short pieces then bending them into rings weighing approximately 1.44 grams each:

(i) One (1) Scrupal was equal to twenty (20) grains; and

(ii) Three (3) Scrupal were then called a dràm from which the ancient Greek δραχμn (drachma) unit is sourced and the international standard weight measure (4.32 gram) for traded ancient coins for several thousand years; and

(iii) Eight (8) dràm was equal to one (1) unnsa (34.56 gram) from which the ancient measure of ounce is derived; and

(iv) Sixteen (16) unnsachan (ounces) was equal to one (1) pund (552.96 gram), from which the ancient measure of pound is derived; and

(v) Sixty (60) punds was equal to one (1) talann (33.17 Kg), from which the ancient measure of talent is derived.

The word scrupal appears to be derived or associated with the original ancient Irish word scrúdú which still means “measure, inspection, screening, examination”.

Scrupal were arranged in different formats for transport, exchange and trade. Between communities, Scruple were arranged in various standard numbers as stringed bracelets, necklaces, while within communities they were frequently worn as part of jewelry and woven into the fabric of the clothes.

To simplify trade within the Celtic communities, the presence of Scrupals clearly visible on the clothes of a person automatically enabled commerce to be transacted knowing the individual had sufficient currency to underwrite any bad debt or failure, without having to physically exchange the actual money itself, only a spoken oath or promise.

The unit of measure of (3) Scrupal as one (1) dràm reflected coins whereby two (2) scruple measures were flattened and then impressed, then bound together with the third scruple being the stretched out edge binding both the obverse and reverse.

In contrast to the standards based on the Scrupal and the proper dram, several city colonies such as Phoenician and Assyrian cities and Lydia by the 6th Century BCE chose to use the dràm weight, but only to impress one (1) side of a single flattened disk, thus leading to a low quality coin at risk from “clipping” being the deliberate shaving off gold to cheat. As a result, a second ancient weight and measures system had to be introduced to account for lighter and less reliable weights and measures.

The scruple is still reflected to the present day in the measure known as the “apothecary's scruple”.