August Boeckh (1785-1867) is still esteemed for a publication that appears to be a comprehensive handbook of all weights and measures of antiquity. In succinct numerical prose, he demonstrates the interrelatedness of all metrological systems of the Mediterranean world up to the sixth century. But there is not a single explicit word about the effects and functions of these ubiquitous units of measurement.
The paper traces the manifest links of Boeckh’s rather factual compendium to political economy and state finance. These links exist on three levels: Boeckh firstly investigated metrology for his book on “The Public Economy of the Athenians.” Secondly, the very tradition he draws upon—the literature “de mensuris et ponderibus”—is easily contextualized within the financial sphere from Guillaume Budé, who wrote about measures and money alike, to Jean-Baptiste Louis de Romé de l’Isle, who dedicated his metrology to Jacques Necker. Thirdly there is Boeckh’s correspondence with his brother Christian Friedrich. The latter was to become finance minister of a stronghold of economic liberalism, the Grand Duchy of Baden. Furthermore, he was involved in the negotiations around the customs pound (“Zollpfund”), a metrological unit that anticipated the North German Confederation (“Norddeutscher Bund”). These implicit links to the treasury do not only connect the handbook to practical economic and legal questions. It will be argued that the very type of precision typical for this field is driven by monetary concerns and the measure of value.
