I owe my soul to the company store...

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Clavdivs, Feb 9, 2021.

  1. Clavdivs

    Clavdivs Well-Known Member

    Summary below - full story can be found here:
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/science...o-reveals-left-BROKE-military-deductions.html


    A payslip made from a sheet of papyrus shows a Roman soldier was left penniless 1,900 years ago after the military took out fees for certain items.

    The document was made out to a Gaius Messius, who participated in the Siege of Masada that was one of the last battles during the First Jewish-Roman War.
    The pay slip was found were the Romans may have set up camp during the Siege of Masada and is dated for after the war – suggesting it was payment for participation.

    The receipt shows Messius received 50 denarri as his stipend, but fees for barley money, food and military equipment were taken out that totaled to the amount of his full pay.
    Because part of the deductions taken were for fodder, food for livestock, experts believe he was a legionary cavalryman and had to feed his horse and mule.

    upload_2021-2-9_10-23-27.png
    It reads: ‘The fourth consulate of Imperator Vespasianus Augustus.’
    ‘Accounts, salary. Gaius Messius, son of Gaius, of the tribe Fabia, from Beirut.’
    I received my stipendium of 50 denarii, out of which I have paid barley money 16 denarii. […]rnius: food expenses 20(?) denarii; boots 5 denarii; leather strappings 2 denarii; linen tunic 7 denarii.’
    And the total of deductions is 50 denari – Messius’ entire pay check.

    Some things never change....



    upload_2021-2-9_10-29-51.png
    Vespasian, 69 - 79 AD
    AE Sestertius, Rome Mint, 32mm, 22.53 grams
    Obverse: IMP CAES VESPASIAN AVG P M TR P P P COS VII, Laureate head of Vespasian left.
    Reverse: PAX AVGVSTI S C, Pax standing left holding branch and cornucopia.
     
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  3. paddyman98

    paddyman98 I'm a professional expert in specializing! Supporter

    Interesting.. Thanks for sharing.
     
  4. Alegandron

    Alegandron "ΤΩΙ ΚΡΑΤΙΣΤΩΙ..." ΜΕΓΑΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ, June 323 BCE

    Thanks for the link, @Clavdivs ... and nice Sestertius.

    Where is the URINE TAX? Potty House Privileges in the Legions are FREE???

    :)

    Maybe that would had been just piling on...

    upload_2021-2-9_9-51-47.png
    RI Vespasian 69-79 CE AR Denarius Jupiter Sacrificing IOVI CONSERVAT
     
  5. jamesicus

    jamesicus Well-Known Member

    Wonderful historical item @Clavdivs - thanks for posting it. It reminds me of my own payday accounts when I first joined the United States Air Force (1950):)
     
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  6. Andres2

    Andres2 Well-Known Member

    Great write up, thanks Clavdivs. Mettius was probably very proud to serve his emperor:(

    Fourth consulate of Imperator Vespasianus Augustus:

    P1170487.JPG
     
  7. Terence Cheesman

    Terence Cheesman Well-Known Member

    Maybe this is one of the denarii that poor Messius didn't get to hold on to for very long. Titus as Caesar mint of Antioch 72-73 AD (which is during the fourth consulate of Vespasian Ar denarius Obv Bust right laureate draped and cuirassed seen from back Rv. Neptune standing left right foot resting on globe. RIC 1561 RPC 1933 3.32 grms 18 mm Photo by W. Hansen titusd11.jpg I seem to remember reading something like this legionnaires plight when I was studying History and Classics at the University of Alberta. This is close to fifty years ago. I remember the individual complaining that the money he had left was barely enough to bribe his centurion so that he would leave him alone. The depiction of Neptune holding on to an aplustre and having his foot resting on a globe is unusual. it does mirror a type used by Octavian/ Augustus about 100 years before. Thus it is possibly commemorative. However I read in a modern secondary source suggesting that when the Romans lost control of the coast of Judaea, there was a rise in piracy. If our understanding of the coin minted by Octavian is correct his coin would commemorate the suppression of Sextus Pompey and his "piratical" control of Sicily. Thus this coin could be seen as part of the effort by Vespasian and Titus to link themselves closer to the founder of the Julio Claudian dynasty by emulating both his policies and his coinage.
     
    Last edited: Feb 9, 2021
  8. Alegandron

    Alegandron "ΤΩΙ ΚΡΑΤΙΣΤΩΙ..." ΜΕΓΑΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ, June 323 BCE

    Did YOU have to pay a Vespasian Urine Tax at the latrines when you were in the USAF? :D
     
    DonnaML likes this.
  9. Egry

    Egry Well-Known Member

    Very interesting. Thousands of years pass and little changes.
     
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  10. ZoidMeister

    ZoidMeister Hamlet Squire of Tomfoolery . . . . .

    I'm sure it brought a tear to his employer's eye . . . . . . .

    Z




    Conrad Veight - tear to my eye.jpg


     
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  11. Spaniard

    Spaniard Well-Known Member

    @Clavdivs.......What an amazing fragile piece of history! Interesting article too thanks!

    First Jewish Revolt against Rome, 66 - 73 CE - Bronze Prutah Masada Coin 17mm/2.85gr.
    Obverse..Vine leaf with small branch and tendril, surrounded by the inscription "Harut Zion"-('freedom of Zion').
    Reverse..Amphora with wide rim, fluted belly and two handles, Paleo-Hebrew inscription 'year two' 67 CE
    masada.jpg
     
  12. ancient coin hunter

    ancient coin hunter 3rd Century Usurper

    Fascinating snippet. Some things never change. When my Dad was serving on a destroyer back in the early 60's he had scrip money that was used for paying for tobacco at the ship's store, along with a variety of other items like chocolate bars and chewing gum. I only know about this since I went through all of his military papers after he passed away back in 2018. It appears it was deducted from his paycheck. So I guess we can surmise that no one was getting rich serving in the Roman military at the time unless you were a senior officer.

    There is a portion of the notitia dignitatum from the late 4th/early 5th century that lists pay scales for palace officials, eunuchs, and military officials like the magister peditum and magister equitem. Anyway, the document is a fascinating read of all of the offices, both civil service and military throughout the empire. Obviously the bureaucracy was formidable at the time. There was even an office of master of the sacred bedchamber, something like a high chamberlain to the emperor.

    It's worth a look. The document states that the army had 554,000 men around the year 400 A.D.

    https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/notitiadignitatum.asp
     
    Last edited: Feb 9, 2021
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