When it was issued, a Quinarius could buy enough food to last one adult 10 days. This was little more than a soldier’s daily wages.
What is a Silver Quinarius?
A Quinarius (Plural: Quinarii) was a Roman coin worth half of a Denarius. It was struck for a brief time along with the Silver Sesterius, after the introduction of the Denarius in 211, BCE.
What was a Quinarius worth?
To assess the buying power a Roman Silver Quinarius afforded a citizen, historians look first at the cost of bread. The Roman diet was heavily dependent on grain.
The Silver Quinarius was Worth Five Asses
The As, sometimes called an Assarius, was a coin used in the Roman Republic. It was first made from Bronze, and later from Copper. The As was worth about 1/5 of the Quinarius. Let’s find some context for that.
Soldiers Earned Three Asses Per Day
Records show that legionary soldiers in the Roman Republic, circa 200-150, B.C.E., were paid 3 asses per day. Wheat sold for 4 Asses per modius.
A modius of wheat measured around 8.7 liters, or just under 2 gallons and an As was worth one fifth the value of a Quinarius. A Modius of wheat supplied enough bread to bake 20, one-pound loaves of bread. Feeding one man, who eats no other food requires about 2 pounds of bread per day.
