Real coins·5 May 2026·4 min read
The sestertius — Rome's small change and unit of wealth
Wealth in Rome was measured in sestertii, from a soldier's pay to the price of a villa.
The sestertius was the coin in which Romans expressed prices and fortunes. A millionaire was someone with a million sestertii. Ancient writers recorded costs and inheritances in sestertii, as we do in lei or euros.
A mental unit of measure
Even when paying in other coins, Romans "thought" in sestertii. Just as today we think prices in our own currency. A good coin becomes the language in which a society reckons value.
