Did ordinary medieval citizens actually use gold/silver coins?

Peasants mostly made what they needed themselves and often traded and paid taxes in kind, particularly early in the Middle Ages. However, they did participate to some extent in the monetary economy, and did so increasingly as the Medieval period progressed. read more

Nobility, and high officials of the Catholic church, and later on in the Middle Ages some of the richer merchants, would have used gold coins, but they would hardly be considered ordinary citizens. There were some Medieval cultures that did place great value on visible displays of precious metals, although this was not limited to coin wealth. read more