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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;EWC3, post: 3700690, member: 93416&quot;]I think that is where I got to too. My understanding is that the Libra was always understood at roughly 327g.</p><p><br /></p><p>The quote is from maybe 160 AD. At that date the coin we call a solidus is long in the future and as a coin it will become a sort of talent – being ultimately 6,000 coppers. Also at that date the as, taken as a libra, was ancient history even for Maecianus . So as it stands - the text seems a pretty mind bending mixing up of static weights vs moving coin values, driven by 700 years of inflation.</p><p><br /></p><p>I know of four major primary sources on Roman weights</p><p><br /></p><p>Maecianus c. 160 AD (on the web in Latin only)</p><p><br /></p><p>Favinus c. 400 AD ( on the web in French translation)</p><p><br /></p><p>Epiphanius c. 400 AD (on the web in English translation)</p><p><br /></p><p>Isidore c. 620 AD (on the web in English translation)</p><p><br /></p><p>The major commentary on these matters is on the web, but by a 19th century German (Hultsch) who wrote in Latin!&nbsp; (arghhhh)</p><p><br /></p><p>If anyone has trouble tracking these texts down let me know.</p><p><br /></p><p>Meanwhile it seems odd to me that the earliest of these texts, Maecianus, seems to me the most confusing, and also, is the one not available (?) in translation.</p><p><br /></p><p>By the way, all the other three texts definitely give a false or distorted version of events</p><p><br /></p><p>Rob T[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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