The Edict of Diocletian, 301 AD, was meant to control inflation on goods and services by stopping merchants and shopkeepers from being excessively greedy. It lists over a thousand article prices in denarii and is the longest surviving legislation from the tetrarchy. This 1920 copy seems to be scarce and I'm feeling lucky to have acquired it. Anyway I thought it would be interesting to post some of the lists to get an idea of costs for the period. The first few pages are goods and last page is services.
I have a webpage using material from ACE on the edict (not complete), including exchange rate near the bottom. http://www.constantinethegreatcoins.com/edict/
Fascinating! Thanks for sharing! Side note: the Union Trust Company building in Providence, RI is a great historic landmark, and one on my favorite buildings in the City.
What I am confused about is the price. Pre-reform I suppose, otherwise how does one value denarii against folles? I suppose we assume the antoninianus was worth 2 denarii. The prices were pretty steep and it would be hard to make a living. The statement "with food" along with the daily earnings suggest that employers provided meals to the workers.
