# How much is a million sesterces in 2015 dollars?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-a-million-sesterces-in-2015-dollars/724632>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 9, 2015, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-a-million-sesterces-in-2015-dollars/724632 "2015-07-09T02:13:37Z")\
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**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\
**Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-a-million-sesterces-in-2015-dollars/724632/15 "2015-07-10T13:14:34Z")

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You could do some calculations based on values from Pompeii in 79 A.D.

loaf of bread = half a sestertius  
half liter of wine= half to one sestertius  
6.67 kg wheat = 7 sestertii  
a bucket = 2 sestertii

> **[Sestertius](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sestertius)**
>
> The sestertius (plural sestertii), or sesterce (plural sesterces), was an ancient Roman coin. During the Roman Republic it was a small, silver coin issued only on rare occasions. During the Roman Empire it was a large brass coin.
> The name sestertius means "two and one half", referring to its nominal value of two and a half asses (a bronze Roman coin, singular as), a value that was useful for commerce because it was one quarter of a denarius, a coin worth ten asses. The name is derived from semi...

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