Deben (Egyptian weight unit)
Encyclopedia
The deben was an ancient Egyptian weight unit.
. Similar weights from the Middle Kingdom were discovered at Lisht. From the Middle Kingdom date also deben weight units used for metals, referred to as copper deben and gold deben, the former being about twice as heavy (c. 23.7 grams) as the latter.
On the other hand it is documented that debens served to compare values. In the 19th dynasty a slave girl, priced four deben and one kite of silver, was paid for with various goods worth as much: 6 bronze vessels, 10 deben of copper, 15 linen garments, a shroud, a blanket and a pot of honey.
Debens were also used in computer game Pharaoh as a currency
for money.
Old and Middle Kingdom
Stone weights from the Old Kingdom have been found, weighing about 13.6 gramsGram
The gram is a metric system unit of mass....
. Similar weights from the Middle Kingdom were discovered at Lisht. From the Middle Kingdom date also deben weight units used for metals, referred to as copper deben and gold deben, the former being about twice as heavy (c. 23.7 grams) as the latter.
New Kingdom
From the New Kingdom on the deben was equal to about 91 grams. It was divided into ten kidet (alt. kit, kite or qedet), or into what is referred to by Egyptologists as 'pieces', one twelfth of a deben weighing 7.6 grams. It was frequently used to denote value of goods, by comparing their worth to a weight of metal, generally silver or copper.Protocurrency
It has been speculated that pieces of metal weighing a deben were kept in boxes, taken to markets and were used as a means of exchange. Archaeologists have been unable to find any such standardized pieces of precious metal.On the other hand it is documented that debens served to compare values. In the 19th dynasty a slave girl, priced four deben and one kite of silver, was paid for with various goods worth as much: 6 bronze vessels, 10 deben of copper, 15 linen garments, a shroud, a blanket and a pot of honey.
Debens were also used in computer game Pharaoh as a currency
Currency
In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...
for money.