In theory the coinage of the country consists of the Turkish gold pound of one hundred piasters, the silver _mejîdeh_ of twenty piasters, the half and quarter silver mejîdeh, the silver double piaster, piaster and half piaster. There are also coins of nickel and copper alloy, one called _bishlik_, which equals two and a half piasters, a double bishlik, called _wazary_ in Jerusalem and _zahrâweh_ at Haifa, a half bishlik, a half piaster and a quarter piaster. There are some copper coins of small value. This list and these values are according to the government standard, which is called _ṣâgh_, and they hold for all payments of taxes, for the post and telegraph and for legal business. For ordinary trade in the country, though these same coins are used, different values are assigned to them. Thus Hebron, Jerusalem and other places have their own systems of reckoning. In Jerusalem the tariff _sherk_, or market, as it is called, makes the mejîdeh twenty-three piasters instead of twenty as in government reckoning. The result is a diminution of the piaster and an increase in the number of them in each of the coins mentioned above. The Turkish gold pound is not seen in the country, but the gold twenty-franc pieces of the Latin Monetary Union are frequently seen and go by the name _lîreh fransaweh_ or _nubalyôn_ (Napoleon). This coin equals one hundred and nine piasters according to the Jerusalem market rate. Change is seldom made for the large coins except in the better city shops, but must be purchased of the money-changers who sit behind their little tables at different points on the main streets. A very common rate for change is the charge of a piaster and a half for changing the Napoleon into small money. In the villages the storekeepers sell change. The peasants refuse to accept damaged coin or any coins that arouse their suspicions as to genuineness or weight. A few coins are less acceptable in some sections than in others. The big copper coin called the _ḳobbuḳ_, worth five _paras_ in Jerusalem, is not used in Beirut, and conversely the _neḥâsy_ of Beirut and vicinity is not used at Jerusalem. When the new style _metlik_ had been issued by the government and had been in use in Constantinople for some time, it was slowly gaining favor in Beirut and was being refused in Palestine except in a few places, where it was taken at a discount of one-fifth from its legal value. A primitive method of keeping a record was seen at the village of eṭ-Ṭayyibeh. A small bow was made from a twig and on the cord was strung a lot of paper slips. Every slip contained the names of five Ṭayyibeh men. The whole village was thus divided up into groups of five. Whenever soldiers coming from Jerusalem were quartered on the villagers one of these groups was responsible for feeding the soldiers. Each group took its turn. Another bow, string and bunch of written slips represented the order of turns of the citizens for feeding the soldiers’ horses.