daf bit: Bava Metzia 52

[cellio]

Coins have a face value, but unlike with modern currency their true value is their weight (historically), and coins wear down over time. The mishna raises the issue of someone who pays for goods with coins that have worn down so much that they no longer meet their face value. How long does the recipient of the payment have to challenge the transaction? The mishna says if he lives in a town, he has until he can get to a moneychanger, and if he lives in a village, he has until the next Shabbat eve.

The g'mara addresses the difference: a town is presumed to have a moneychanger, who has expertise in evaluating the coins that a layman does not have. A village might not have a moneychanger, but the recipient of the coins will go shopping for Shabbat and will find out then if the coins are deficient. (52a-b)

Today's daf is 54, but it doesn't distill well.

Comments

[alaricmacconnal.livejournal.com]

A village might not have a moneychanger, but the recipient of the coins will go shopping for Shabbat and will find out then if the coins are deficient

This just seems to be pushing the problem along, presuming that the recipient shops in the village (since I'm understanding that only a moneychanger has the expertise to evaluate the coins).

[zevabe.livejournal.com]

The assumption is that when he goes shopping someone will object if his coins are deficient.

[http://users.livejournal.com/merle_/]

...and if he lives in a village, he has until the next Shabbat eve.

Note to self: perform all monetary transactions in villages the day immediately following the Shabbat, to allow for travel time.