A medieval silver coin of high quality and value, used extensively in European trade from around the 13th century onward.
From Middle Low German 'esterlinge' or 'sterlinghe,' possibly deriving from 'eastern' or a place name. The word eventually evolved into 'sterling,' still used today for British currency.
The word 'sterling' in 'British pound sterling' comes directly from these medieval esterling coins—when something is 'sterling quality,' it echoes back 700+ years to when these coins guaranteed pure silver!
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