Hey everyone, I came upon an interesting web page which I thought I would share. Basically, it shows what people earned and what things cost back in Roman times. I felt the numismatic tie-in was strong enough to warrant posting on this board, as it helps us understand what various coins were worth in terms of trade - and more importantly, people's lives. It's fascinating, and gives a wonderful insight into Biblical times. For that matter, it helps us understand underdeveloped societies today. Through it all, we see themes of privilege and power, class struggle, market forces, and more. Here is the page : http://www.constantinethegreatcoins.com/edict/ I am no scholar of ancient Rome, so I make no claim as to the veracity of anything therein. I welcome any and all comments, corrections, or additions. In particular, I would like to hear any insights you may have. Thanks for playing ! Ricky B 900fine
Here's an interesting quote : "Clothing was another expensive proposition. One ‘libra’ (Roman pound, just under ¾ of a modern pound - 326 grams), of fine silk cost more than a dozen human beings. "
That list is from emperor Diocletian, not constantine, it even states so. Still its pretty cool to see.
Well, not rare so much as many societies across Asia basically ran their countries on the taxes on the silk road trade. The Parthians and later Sassanids especially, basically built their societies on the wealth of this trade crossing their country from China and somewhat Central Asia to Rome. It was estimated that silk cost over 100 times more in Rome than in China at the time. The pricing issue of Diocletian was a failure of course, as previous edicts like Wang Mang and others had been, and every similar edict since. Even Ford and Carter tried similar measures. The one issue with using this to look at prices at the time is these were the "official" prices, so basically you need to understand you could not buy very many things at these prices. Most items sold for more. Chris
