Nov 23, 2017 · the time of Lollia Paulina who was once covered with 40M sesterces' worth of jewels; and ; the time of Cleopatra, who once drank a dissolved pearl worth 10M sesterces, both of these stories being from Pliny, Book 9, Ch. 58. Adam Smith writes in The Wealth of Nations:

Hoffman, quoted by Rasche, says - "Four sesterces make a denarius, that is ten asses, which, if it is silver, is equal in weight to a drachm." The sesterce has for its types, on one side a female head helmeted and winged, behind it IIS., on the reverse are the Dioscuri on horseback, and below ROMA. - This little coin is by no means common.

Also of interest if not directly relevant, since the sesterce was a quarter of a denarius, and a farthing is a quarter of the old penny (which was a denarius), a sesterce is literally a farthing. Since Roman soldiers around 1AD were paid about 900 sesterces a year, that translates to 18s9d, or about $1 a year.

Feb 4, 2021 · Didius Julianus (ruled 28 March to 1 June 193 AD) promised a total of around 200 million sesterces to the Praetorians but apparently did not have sufficient funds to meet this commitment. For context, a legionary foot soldier was paid (annually, before significant deductions) around 2,400 sesterces following the pay rise in 197 AD, and a ...

Apr 23, 2021 · @PieterGeerkens That is not always true. Government officials of the equites in the egregii where paid according to their rank: 60,000 sesterces for sexagenarii, 100,000 sesterces for centenarii, 200,000 sesterces for ducenariii, and 300,000 sesterces for trecenarii.

Jan 19, 2018 · But in the 250s and 260s the denarii and sesterces were progressively melted down, eventually disappearing, and the antoninianus, the sole remaining silver coin, was debased until it was a billon coin, almost pure vile metal. Harper says that people must have started holding on to good metal, taking coins out of circulation and accelerating the ...

The Aerarium Militare was given a ‘starting’ fund of 170,000,000 sesterces from Augustus’ Fiscus. Otherwise, it was financed by two new taxes: an inheritance and large bequests tax of 5% (vicesima hereditatium) and a sales tax of 1%. There …

In the book "The Roman Empire and the Indian Ocean" by McLaughlin, which is a very interesting read, he states that annual bullion going to buy luxuries in India was around 50-100 million sesterces per year between around 60 AD and 160 AD. He mentioned that there have been very large coin hoards found in India, specifically in the Tamil region.

At such a rate, to turn out a million coins would need 1,400 working days — and the circulation could actually run into billions of sesterces! One reads of two opposing dies being struck with a hammer (there are even photographs of them), but I have never come across a believable account of the whole business.

Jan 2, 2010 · Suspicious Sesterces ... New & Reduced