Comparisons and Silver Content
It is problematic to give even rough comparative values for money from before the 20th century, as the range of products and services available for purchase was very different. The coin's purchasing power in terms of bread in the first century AD has been estimated as equivalent to US$21 in 2005. Classical historians often say that in the late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire the daily wage for an unskilled laborer and common soldier was 1 denarius (with no tax deductions) or about US$20 in bread. By comparison, a laborer earning the minimum wage in the United States makes US$58 for an 8-hour day, before taxes. The silver content of the denarius under the Roman Empire was about 50 grains, or 1⁄10 troy ounce. In June 6, 2011, this corresponded to approximately US$3.62 in value if the silver were 0.999 pure.
The fineness of the silver content varied with political and economic circumstances. By the reign of Gallienus, the antoninianus was a copper coin with a thin silver wash.
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