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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;rrdenarius, post: 2300538, member: 75525&quot;]The coins I like best, Roman Republic, started in about 290 BC and ended during the time of Julius Caesar / Octavian somewhere between 49 BC when Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon and 27 BC when Octavian took the name and eventually title of Augustus. </p><p>In their early history, Romans were subsistence farmers who made ends meet by occasionally raiding others. They issued no coins and traded by barter. Their first money system was based on livestock and eventually bronze. One pound of bronze (300 grams plus or minus depending on which town) equaled 1 As. They issued fractions and multiples:</p><p>X = Decussis = 10 Asses - rare today</p><p>V = Quincussis = 5 Asses</p><p>III = Tressis = 3 Asses</p><p>II = Dupondius = 2 Asses</p><p>I = As = 12 unciae = 300 oz. bronze</p><p>S = Semis = 6 unciae</p><p>4 dots = Triens = 4 unciae</p><p>3 dots = Quadrans = 3 unciae</p><p>2 dots = Sextans = 2 unciae</p><p>1 dot = Uncia</p><p>Sigma = Semiuncia, or less than uncia</p><p><br /></p><p>The earliest Roman silver coins were minted starting about the same time as the bronze coins and did not have marks of value. Their weights matched Greek coins.</p><p><br /></p><p>About 211 BC, Rome was fighting the second Punic was and was short of bronze for coins. This cause the weight of bronze coins to drop significantly. They switched to silver based coins. They issued three main coins:</p><ul> <li>Denarius with a mark of value = X. It was worth 10 asses.</li> <li>Quinarius with a mark of value = V. It was worth 5 asses.</li> <li>Sestertius with a mark of value - IIS. It was worth 2.5 asses. Note that S = Semis or half an as.</li> </ul><p>In 211 BC a Roman soldier was paid 3 asses per day.</p><p>The denarius was equal 10 asses until 141 BC when it was revalued to 16 asses and had a mark of value = XVI. It held that ratio into Imperial times. The symbol switched from XVI to a * and eventually back to X even though it was worth 16 asses.</p><p><br /></p><p>I will copy a post from a couple of months ago on what you could buy. Doug is right, there is no way to compare what you could buy then to now.</p><p><br /></p><p>I have seen the subject of buying power of ancient coins discussed several times. I have a book with Selections from the Numismatist on Ancient and Medieval Coins. It has an article from 1916 on the subject of prices. Edward Newell quoted Pliny (a Roman historian) that in 250 BC, one As, about 300 grams of bronze, would buy one of the following:</p><p>a modius (18.5 quarts) of wheat</p><p>a measure of wine</p><p>10 pounds of oil</p><p>12 pounds of meat</p><p>30 pounds of dry figs</p><p>When I googled the following phrase &quot;The purchasing value of coins of the classic period Edward Newell&quot; I found the article on line at:</p><p><a href="http://www.mocavo.com/The-Numismatist-Volume-Xxix/887035/220" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.mocavo.com/The-Numismatist-Volume-Xxix/887035/220" rel="nofollow">http://www.mocavo.com/The-Numismatist-Volume-Xxix/887035/220</a></p><p>I am sure I have a more recent book, but alas it is buried somewhere in my treasures room.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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