http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-norfolk-34134329 Stuff musta been cheaper than I thought.... Seems that I read that although it fluctuated, denarus generally thought to be worth $100 in today's purchasing power?
Suetonius recorded that in the time of Augustus, the pay of a legionary foot soldier was 10 asses per day. This works out to about 225 denarii a year.
Traditional figures were soldiers pay at a denarius a day in the early empire. If this is the case, these would be closer to a month. Republicans may have been paid less so maybe these would be two months but six seems out of line. I realize that some of the soldier's pay was paid in kind so, perhaps, the figure assumes these would be the cash amount not counting what was withheld for food, uniforms or whatever.
In Republican Rome, soldiers were not paid until the last campaign against Veii in 406 BC. Farmers left their homes for a few weeks during fighting season and then returned to the farm. At that time, Rome did not mint coins, but did exchange bronze by weight. Pay could have been with coins issued by Greek colonies, or more likely with Aes Rude, see pics below. By the first Carthaginian war, 264 BC, Rome was casting bronze "coins", see 4th pic below and issuing some silver coins. Soldiers were paid 3 Asses per day. You can imagine the cart hauling 300 gram Asses was BIG. Rome had little silver other than plunder, and until the end of the first Carthaginian war most pay was bronze. During the second Carthaginian war, Rome introduced the Denarius = 10 Asses. A shortage of bronze dropped the weight of the As to 50 grams. Until the time of Marius, about 100 BC, only wealthy citizens and allies could fight in the army. Citizens and others who could not afford to buy armor, horses, etc. could not fight with the army. Pay stayed at this level until the time of Julius Caesar when he doubled pay to 225 denarii. The cost of food and arms was deducted from pay. Looting was usually the best pay for officers and foot soldiers. aes rude, see the part of a bronze knife = wt of sextans = 2/12th of an As aes rude and some pieces of cast bars, the largest weighs 746 gr or 2.5 Asses not my collection, but one day I'd like to have an ax like the one shown obverse of cast coins reverse of cast coins I started collecting Roman Republican denarii, and have added cast bronze to my collection. My Roman history is mostly BC. Republican Rome by H L Havell is my favorite book on history of the period. Coinage in the Roman Economy 300 BC to 700 AD by Kenneth Harl gives lots of facts and figures.
I was under the impression that Marius not only changed the Legions, but also the pay as did Sulla who followed suit. Am I wrong?
I am not sure about pay level, but Marius recruited from the landless. The greatest reward for his soldiers was booty and a promised retirement plot of land. My notes give the following pay changes: Soldiers pay Year, BC denarii / year Notes In Polybus' day, ? 108 3 asses per day den = 10 As 213 - 212 109.5 3 asses per day den = 10 As 141 114 5 asses per day den = 16 As 46 225 Julius Caesar doubled soldier's pay http://www.unrv.com/empire/marius-reforms-legions.php
I have an Aes Rude en route to me. I am looking forward to it. I have also been in the search for the bronze axehead. Welcome to CoinTalk! I am a relative novice to Ancient RR coins, but have been an ardent student of RR history since my early teens... Your above posts are very much in line with my recollections...GREAT job and thank you for sharing!
Lets not forget donatives to the troops. Here is a nice quote for Late Roman wages. "MILITARY WAGES. Between the joint reign of Valentinian I (364-375) and Valens (364-378) and Heraclius (610-641), annual wages of 9 solidi were paid to each cavalryman and 5 solidi to each infantryman, but salaries were a fraction of military costs. Salary and provisioning of a soldier was perhaps reckoned annually at 30 solidi and another 6 solidi were added to cover clothing and equipment. War horses were reckoned as costing 20 to 25 solidi per year; their initial purchase price at 7 to 10 solidi." From:http://www.tulane.edu/~august/H303/currency/Justinian.htm
It would appear that the cost of a soldier/equine went up considerably over time. From what I've read, a soldiers pay was very low in the first century and before. Where they made it up was the spoils collected after a battle.
My thanks for sharing this data! Though I collect RR coinage, I know very little about soldier's pay. I have enjoyed the history lesson.
