Pawnbrokers' Balls

The Lombards were the first great money-lenders, and of the Lombards, the princely Medici family, of Florence, were the first to make the lending of money a regular business; hence the loan offices came to adopt the arms of the Medici family, on which were three gilt balls. Some give as the origin of the balls on the Medici arms, a punning device on the name of Medici, saying, that the three gilt balls were three pills, in allusion to their profession of medicine. By others the origin is traced to an exploit of Averardo de Medici, a commander under Charlemagne. This bold warrior slew the giant Mugello, whose club or mace had three iron balls, which the family adopted in their coat of arms. Be this as it may, the three balls are commemorative of the Medici family, who were, so to speak, the first pawnbrokers. In London a pawnbroker told a friend that, as he never lent anything without demanding security that was of double value, two of the balls indicated what he took, and the third what he gave.