Those coins were not worth much. Small pocket change really.
According to surviving papyri we know that approximately 30 of those coins would get you a 1/2 litre of wine or oil, or a pound of meat or
fish, circa 335 - 337 AD.
It is hard to convert ancient prices to modern. A literal conversion would seem to be 25 to 50 cents per coin depending on the
quality of the goods, but we have to remember that meat was a luxury food in Roman times and wine was drunk mixed with water. So a pound of meat was not a single middle class family dinner like today. Likewise a 1/2 litre of wine was not an evening drink for one - it was probably converted into 3 to 5 litres of drink. (Adding 6 to 10 times as much water seems to be
average, though reports exist of anywhere from 3 to 20 times as much water.) So even thinking of it as a dollar may not be too wide of the mark.
Other ancient costs were seemingly out of proportion. Clothing was very expensive compared to food and drink, while accommodation - at least in terms of long term (annual) rent - was quite
cheap.
Overall, you can see why you would not be too worried if you
had dropped your
Delmatius in the market and it rolled down a
crack between the paving stones.
Shawn
