Why did silver gain prominence in trade over gold in Early Medieval Europe?

Question

After the Roman Empire's slow decline, and its withdrawal from much of northern Europe (France, Germany, Britain), gold coin use seems to have declined to the point where it would be a rare to see any. For example, in the archaeological record, huge silver hoards have been found in Britain and Scandinavia, but gold is extremely rare. Why was this? Was there an economic or logistical reason for the decline of gold use in this period? Or were their political factors involved with trade agreements from the old empires, and the emerging powers in central and northern europe?

Answer 1

The answer is two-fold.

1. There were no accessible gold deposits within Europe. There are locations where gold mining can be conducted today, but with the techniques available in the premodern period, they were not exploitable. European gold deposits are still relatively inconvenient compared to those in other places; Europe has been called "rich in poor gold deposits."

2. The monetary economy of medieval Europe was small enough that gold was too valuable to be used as money. It would have been like walking around with a million dollar bill.

For more, I'd recommend volume 2 of the Cambridge Economic History of Europe.