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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;1934 Wreath Crown, post: 4320480, member: 76965&quot;]An even bigger chunk of change nowadays <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /><img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /><img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /><img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie2" alt=";)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>I saw an interesting analysis regarding the purchasing power of this coin and thought I&#039;d share it here:</p><p><br /></p><p><i>&quot;It is tricky to estimate the purchasing power of the Ptolemaic mnaieion in terms of the modern economy. Although we possess price and wage data from Ptolemaic Egypt, our modern standard of living is so much higher that comparisons may not be entirely reliable.</i></p><p><br /></p><p><i>The average price of an artaba of wheat during the reign of Ptolemy II was 2 drachms. The mnaieion, equivalent to 100 drachms, could purchase 50 artabas at this average price. The current price of wheat in the US, as of 30 August 2019, is $4.60 per bushel. The bushel and the artaba are nearly identical measures of volume-a bushel is equivalent to 27.2155 kg, an artaba to 30 kg. The current price of 50 bushels of wheat, $230, could be deemed more-or-less equivalent to the mnaieion. This figure should be increased by 10%, to $250, to account for the 10% difference between the bushel and the artaba. However we should take into account that one of the blessings of modern life is an abundance of inexpensive food.</i></p><p><br /></p><p><i>The typical pay of an ordinary soldier in third-century Ptolemaic Egypt was 1 drachm per day, thus 30 drachms per month. (The Egyptian month was exactly 30 days long.) The mnaieion was equivalent to a soldier&#039;s pay for 3-1/3 months. Current pay for an enlisted soldier in the US Army, at the lowest pay grade, is $1680.90 per month (1). This amounts to $5703 for 3-1/3 months. According to this measure, then, the mnaieion would be equivalent to $5703.</i></p><p><br /></p><p><i>During the reign of Ptolemy II the pay of a mounted patrolman was 100 drachms per month, exactly one mnaieion (2). This may be compared with the pay of a California Highway Patrolman (3): minimum $4357.25 per month, average $7443 per month, maximum $12,714 per month. The average pay of a Texas Ranger is $4167 per month (4). It would be tempting to adopt the low figures of $4167 and $4357.25 because of their congruence with one another, and their relative closeness to the figure derived from military pay. But documents from third-century Ptolemaic Egypt indicate that the pay of mounted patrolmen fell in a range from 20 to 100 drachms per month (5). There were probably different pay grades, just as in the modern military and in other modern organizations, and 100 drachms per month was apparently the top pay rate. According to this example, the mnaieion would be equivalent to $12,714.</i></p><p><br /></p><p><i>We can certainly conclude that the mnaieion had great purchasing power, but in terms of its modern equivalent the best we can do is suggest a range between $4000 and $13,000.&quot;</i></p><p><br /></p><p>I did a deal with the owner and paid him in grain to feed his starving family<img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /><img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /><img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie7" alt=":p" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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