Talk:Medici bank

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[edit] awfully written article...

not well written...should include the family may have probably been herbalist/owned apothecaries/ been doctors, hence the name Medici.

The main article on the Medici family does mention the meaning of the name; but nevertheless, the earliest records of the Medici have them as wool traders. --Gwern (contribs) 15:38 18 August 2007 (GMT)

When was this bank finally closed? "Cesati, Franco (1999). Medici. Firenze: La Mandragora. ISBN 88-85957 - 36." says on page 114 that the bank was finally closed by Cosimo II. This is at odds with what is written in the article. Giano 16:16, 18 August 2007 (UTC)

I don't know what that is about. Possibly the legal claim to the company was only given up by him much later? Legal issues can long outlast the reality; the date when all the branches closed, employees fired, vaults emptied, records seized etc. seem to be a good date for its closing, and that date seems to be 1494. --Gwern (contribs) 17:07 18 August 2007 (GMT)
  • The book actually says the bank still had a few brances throughout Europe, when Cosimo II decided to close it. Cosimo II reigned from 1609 to 1621 which is long after the date I had thougt it closed. The chapter is dealing with declining Medici fortunes and raised Tuscan taxes. If the book were not by Cesati, who is an acknowledged and very much published authority on the Medici, I would be inclined to dismiss it as rubbish. Giano 17:18, 18 August 2007 (UTC)
This article here [1] says by 1494 it had closed "most" of its branches - most being not all, perhaps a few lingered on for another 120 years? Giano 17:21, 18 August 2007 (UTC)
  • This site seems to confirm it [2]. Giano 17:23, 18 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Exchange

Wasn't the idea that, generally speaking, the exchange rate for the bankers would almost always be favorable? Florins to Pounds in Florence always beat Florins to Pounds in London? —Preceding unsigned comment added by JoshNarins (talk • contribs) 17:45, 30 December 2007 (UTC)


[edit] Unclear

The phrase "unwisely loaning to a secular ruler" seems to assume too much background knowedge. Surely some hint or link to further info is appropriate here. Was it unwise specifically because the ruler was secular, or is secular just an incidental adjective here? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.42.97.50 (talk) 07:33, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

The former. I specified 'secular' because loaning to ecclesiastical/non-secular rulers was actually a good long-term bet and one of the foundations of Medici success. Say what you will about the Catholic Church, but as an entity, it was pretty good about its debts. --Gwern (contribs) 17:33 2 April 2008 (GMT)