Editing Denarius (section)

==Value, comparisons and silver content==
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[[File:Denarius-Domitilla-RIC 0137.jpg|thumb|[[Domitilla the Elder|Flavia Domitilla]], wife of [[Vespasian]] and mother of [[Titus]] and [[Domitian]]]]

[[File:Antonia1.jpg|thumb|[[Antonia (gens)|Quintus Antonius Balbus]] ({{circa|83–82 BC}})]]

1 [[gold]] ''[[aureus]]'' = 2 gold ''[[Quinarius|quinarii]]'' = 25 [[silver]] ''denarii'' = 50 silver ''quinarii'' = 100 [[bronze]] ''[[Sestertius|sestertii]]'' = 200 bronze [[dupondius|dupondii]] = 400 [[copper]] ''[[As (Roman coin)|asses]]'' = 800 copper ''[[semis]]ses'' = 1,600 copper ''[[Quadrans|quadrantes]]''{{When|date=July 2019}}

It is difficult to give even rough comparative values for money from before the 20th century, as the range of products and services available for purchase was so different. During the republic (509 BC – 27 BC), a legionary earned 112.5 ''denarii'' per year (0.3 ''denarii'' per day). Under [[Julius Caesar]], this was doubled to 225 ''denarii''/yr, with soldiers having to pay for their own food and arms,<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Adkins |first1=Lesley |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zGY1Sqjwf8kC&dq=Under+Julius+Caesar%2C+legionary+pay+doubled+to+225+denarii%2Fyear%2C+with+soldiers+having+to+pay+for+their+own+food+and+arms&pg=PA79 |title=Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome |last2=Adkins |first2=Roy A. |last3=Adkins |first3=Both Professional Archaeologists Roy A. |date=2014-05-14 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |isbn=978-0-8160-7482-2 |language=en |access-date=2022-04-14 |archive-date=2023-09-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230904145101/https://books.google.com/books?id=zGY1Sqjwf8kC&dq=Under+Julius+Caesar%2C+legionary+pay+doubled+to+225+denarii%2Fyear%2C+with+soldiers+having+to+pay+for+their+own+food+and+arms&pg=PA79 |url-status=live }}</ref> while in the reign of Augustus a [[Centurion]] received at least 3,750 ''denarii'' per year, and for the highest rank, 15,000 ''denarii''.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Adkins |first1=Lesley |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zGY1Sqjwf8kC |title=Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome |last2=Adkins |first2=Roy A. |last3=Adkins |first3=Both Professional Archaeologists Roy A. |date=2014-05-14 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |isbn=978-0-8160-7482-2 |pages=79 |language=en |access-date=2022-03-01 |archive-date=2023-09-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230904145157/https://books.google.com/books?id=zGY1Sqjwf8kC |url-status=live }}</ref>

By the late [[Roman Republic]] and early [[Roman Empire]] ({{circa|27 BC}}), a common soldier or unskilled laborer would be paid 1 ''denarius''/day (with no tax deductions), around 300% inflation compared to the early period. Using the cost of bread as a baseline, this pay equates to around US$20 in 2013 terms.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://dougsmith.ancients.info/worth.html |title = Buying Power of Ancient Coins |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130210071801/http://dougsmith.ancients.info/worth.html |archive-date=10 February 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Expressed in terms of the price of silver, and assuming 0.999 purity, a {{frac|1|10}} [[troy ounce]] ''denarius'' had a precious metal value of around US$2.60 in 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|title=XE: Convert XAG/USD. Silver to United States Dollar|url=https://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/convert/?Amount=1&From=XAG&To=USD|access-date=2021-01-28|website=xe.com|archive-date=2023-09-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230904145104/https://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/convert/?Amount=1&From=XAG&To=USD|url-status=live}}</ref>

At the height of the [[Roman Empire]] a ''[[Ancient Roman units of measurement|sextarius]]'' (546 ml or about 2{{frac|1|4}} American cups) of ordinary wine cost roughly one ''[[dupondius]]'' ({{frac|8}} of a ''denarius''); after Diocletian's [[Edict on Maximum Prices]] was issued in 301 AD, the same item cost 8 debased common ''denarii'' – 6300% inflation.

Silver content plummeted across the lifespan of the ''denarius''. Under the Roman Empire (after [[Nero]]) the ''denarius'' contained approximately 50 [[grain (measure)|grains]], 3.24 grams, or 0.105 ozt (about {{frac|1|10}} [[troy ounce]]). The fineness of the silver content varied with political and economic circumstances. From a purity of greater than 90% silver in the 1st century AD, the ''denarius'' fell to under 60% purity by 200 AD, and plummeted to 5% purity by 300 AD.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tulane.edu/~august/handouts/601cprin.htm |title=Roman Currency of the Principate |access-date=2015-12-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151128174101/http://www.tulane.edu/~august/handouts/601cprin.htm |archive-date=2015-11-28 }}</ref> By the reign of [[Gallienus]], the ''antoninianus'' was a copper coin with a thin silver wash.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Katsari|first=Constantina|title=The Concept of Inflation in the Roman Empire|journal=Economic History|year=2002|url=https://ideas.repec.org/p/wpa/wuwpeh/0204001.html|access-date=2006-12-06|archive-date=2018-07-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710164700/https://ideas.repec.org/p/wpa/wuwpeh/0204001.html|url-status=live}}</ref>