Peter Spufford, Money and its Use in Medieval Europe.

Spufford, Peter. Money and its Use in Medieval Europe. NY: Cambridge UP, 1988.

Spufford's monograph seeks to inject issues of money into the scholarly discussion of medieval Europe, bringing in points from numismatics, issues of bullion shortage and surplus, and matters of credit. In general, I would say that Spufford's goal is successful as, since it was published in 1988, matters of money have taken a stronger role in the commentaries of social and political development of late medieval Europe, or at least in several that I've read. What's interesting in Spufford's text is the plotting of economic contraction or expansion in accordance to the supply of raw silver or gold bullion in Europe. Spufford is careful to point out that he is not drawing a direct correlation between the two, but rather that surpluses of bullion allowed for more opportunities for economic growth. If silver, for example, is in greater supply, more coinage may be minted from it, which better allows for international trade opportunities. 

Spufford also ties the monetization of late medieval England to the better access to coinage, as this better allowed agricultural laborers to engage in a money economy when they previously operated in more of a commodity economy to pay land rents and tithes. Interestingly, Spufford has an excellent section that breaks down the economic differences between agricultural and urban laborers in fourteenth century Europe. Agricultural laborers' participation in the money economy was seasonal, as they sold harvests at market and generally immediately used that currency to purchase the commodities or tools that were needed for their sustenance or continued labor. After domestic necessities and plowshares were purchased, Spufford suggests that these agricultural laborers would leave the markets with purses empty. Urban laborers, on the other hand, engage in a money economy throughout the year in wages, making them much more accustomed to and dependent upon the exchange of currency for goods. The difference between agricultural and urban laborers is important to remember in topics such as economic development in which scholars lean towards generalization rather than specifics.