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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Andrew McCabe, post: 4899645, member: 90666&quot;]1/2 days pay in late Republic (but a denarius 1st c BC had about double he silver as in 2nd c AD). </p><p><br /></p><p>A day&#039;s pay for a soldier was worth about $10 in todays terms. We can pretty accurately calculate what a day pay is worth based on evidence of the commodities a soldier would and did buy in ancient times. We know what very basic, bulk-buy volume, wheat, oil, wine, cheese and vegetables, with occasional bits of bacon or whatever, cost today. About $3 to $5 for a day&#039;s nutrition. Soldiers were paid more than subsistence (else why do it), and it seems from ancient records, about enough to pay for two or three days supply with 1 day wage (rest left for fun, clothes, barbers&nbsp; laundry etc). So on that basis, a soldier&#039;s pay was about $10/ day. Equates to basic incomes of semi skilled jobs in large low tech countries such as India, Brazil or Nigeria today.</p><p><br /></p><p>From that you can work back to todays value of ancient coins. </p><p><br /></p><p>I reckon $20 for a late Republican denarius (when soldiers were paid 183 denarii per year). Probably same value in mid Empire (when they received more denarii but with less silver in each)[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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