Weight explorer
How much was a hoard worth to the people who buried it? Pick a hoard and a price from its own period. Only hoards with a published metal weight and prices with a cited source appear, and the arithmetic is shown. Treat the answers as orders of magnitude: prices varied by place and year, and many hoards include metal that was never meant to be spent.
Hoards by weight of metal
Weights are as published (sources on each hoard page). Some include base metal; the hoard pages say where.
Every comparison, as a table
| Hoard | Metal | Equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Berthouville Treasure | 25 kg silver | ≈ 28 × a legionary's pay for a year (Augustus) ≈ 24 × a legionary's pay for a year (Domitian) ≈ 6,410 × a labourer's day wage (1st century AD) |
| Boscoreale Treasure | 30 kg silver | ≈ 34 × a legionary's pay for a year (Augustus) ≈ 29 × a legionary's pay for a year (Domitian) ≈ 7,692 × a labourer's day wage (1st century AD) |
| Burge Hoard | 10.4 kg silver | ≈ 2,880 × a thatcher's day wage (1290s) ≈ 7,201 × a labourer's day wage (1290s) ≈ 2,963 × a master carpenter's day wage (1351) ≈ 2,659 × an archer's day pay (1346) ≈ 100 × a cow (1280s) ≈ 518 × a sheep (mid-14th century) |
| Cuerdale Hoard | 40 kg silver | ≈ 238 × a good horse ≈ 952 × an ox ≈ 1,429 × a cow ≈ 2,857 × a pig ≈ 5,714 × a sheep ≈ 238 × an enslaved person |
| Cunetio Hoard | 180 kg mixed base silver and bronze coins | mixed metal: not compared |
| Duesminde Hoard | 1.3 kg silver | ≈ 7.7 × a good horse ≈ 31 × an ox ≈ 46 × a cow ≈ 93 × a pig ≈ 186 × a sheep ≈ 7.7 × an enslaved person |
| Eberswalde Hoard (Eberswalder Goldschatz) | 2.6 kg gold | no cited price for this period yet |
| Erfurt Treasure | 28 kg silver | ≈ 7,778 × a thatcher's day wage (1290s) ≈ 19,444 × a labourer's day wage (1290s) ≈ 8,000 × a master carpenter's day wage (1351) ≈ 7,179 × an archer's day pay (1346) ≈ 269 × a cow (1280s) ≈ 1,400 × a sheep (mid-14th century) |
| Frome Hoard | 160 kg mixed debased silver and bronze coins | mixed metal: not compared |
| Galloway Hoard | 5 kg mixed silver, gold and other materials | mixed metal: not compared |
| Græsli Hoard | 2.2 kg silver | ≈ 13 × a good horse ≈ 54 × an ox ≈ 80 × a cow ≈ 161 × a pig ≈ 321 × a sheep ≈ 13 × an enslaved person |
| Gundestrup cauldron | 8.9 kg mixed silver (gilded) | mixed metal: not compared |
| Hiddensee Treasure | 598 g gold | no cited price for this period yet |
| Hoen Hoard | 2.5 kg gold | no cited price for this period yet |
| Hornelund Hoard | 216 g gold | no cited price for this period yet |
| Hoxne Hoard | 27.2 kg mixed gold and silver | mixed metal: not compared |
| Huxley Hoard | 1.5 kg silver | ≈ 8.9 × a good horse ≈ 36 × an ox ≈ 54 × a cow ≈ 107 × a pig ≈ 214 × a sheep ≈ 8.9 × an enslaved person |
| Kaiseraugst Treasure | 58 kg silver | ≈ 66 × a legionary's pay for a year (Augustus) ≈ 57 × a legionary's pay for a year (Domitian) ≈ 14,872 × a labourer's day wage (1st century AD) |
| Lohe Hoard | 200 kg silver | no cited price for this period yet |
| Neupotz Hoard | 700 kg mixed mixed: about 513 kg iron, 203 kg copper alloy, 10 kg silver | mixed metal: not compared |
| Norrie's Law Hoard | 750 g silver | no cited price for this period yet |
| Panagyurishte Treasure | 6.2 kg gold | no cited price for this period yet |
| Rogozen Treasure | 20 kg silver | ≈ 4,651 × a skilled worker's day wage (Athens, c. 400 BC) ≈ 1,852 × a skilled worker's day wage (Athens, 377 BC) ≈ 2,326 × a hoplite's day pay at the siege of Potidaea (432-430 BC) ≈ 9,302 × a juror's day fee (Athens, from 425 BC) ≈ 1,550 × a medimnos of wheat (Athens, c. 400 BC) |
| Schaprode Hoard (Harald Bluetooth hoard) | 1.5 kg silver | ≈ 8.9 × a good horse ≈ 36 × an ox ≈ 54 × a cow ≈ 107 × a pig ≈ 214 × a sheep ≈ 8.9 × an enslaved person |
| Silverdale Hoard | 1 kg silver | ≈ 6.0 × a good horse ≈ 24 × an ox ≈ 36 × a cow ≈ 71 × a pig ≈ 143 × a sheep ≈ 6.0 × an enslaved person |
| Skaill Hoard | 8 kg silver | ≈ 48 × a good horse ≈ 190 × an ox ≈ 286 × a cow ≈ 571 × a pig ≈ 1,143 × a sheep ≈ 48 × an enslaved person |
| Spillings Hoard | 67 kg silver | ≈ 399 × a good horse ≈ 1,595 × an ox ≈ 2,393 × a cow ≈ 4,786 × a pig ≈ 9,571 × a sheep ≈ 399 × an enslaved person |
| Staffordshire Hoard | 6.5 kg mixed gold and silver | mixed metal: not compared |
| Sundveda Hoard | 646 g silver | ≈ 3.8 × a good horse ≈ 15 × an ox ≈ 23 × a cow ≈ 46 × a pig ≈ 92 × a sheep ≈ 3.8 × an enslaved person |
| Szilágysomlyó Treasure | 8 kg mixed gold and silver | mixed metal: not compared |
| Terslev Hoard | 6.6 kg silver | ≈ 39 × a good horse ≈ 157 × an ox ≈ 235 × a cow ≈ 470 × a pig ≈ 939 × a sheep ≈ 39 × an enslaved person |
| Tomares Hoard | 600 kg mixed copper alloy (bronze) with a little silver | mixed metal: not compared |
| Traprain Law Treasure | 23 kg silver | no cited price for this period yet |
| Treasure of Nagyszentmiklós | 9.9 kg gold | no cited price for this period yet |
| Treasure of Villena (Tesoro de Villena) | 9.8 kg gold | no cited price for this period yet |
| Trier Gold Hoard | 18.5 kg gold | ≈ 264 × a legionary's pay for a year (Augustus), in gold ≈ 210 × a legionary's pay for a year (Domitian), in gold |
| Tureholm Treasure | 12 kg gold | no cited price for this period yet |
| Valchitran Treasure | 12.5 kg gold | no cited price for this period yet |
| Vindelev Hoard | 794 g gold | no cited price for this period yet |
| Winchester Hoard | 1.2 kg gold | no cited price for this period yet |
The prices and where they come from
| Price | Period | Metal | How it is worked out | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| a good horse (england) | Viking age | 168 g silver | VI Æthelstan 6 §1 reckons a horse 'at half a pound' = 120 pence; 120 × 1.4 g per penny = 168 g. The ordinance of the London peace-guild under Æthelstan (924-939) sets compensation for stolen livestock, not market prices. Half a pound is the value 'if it is worth so much'; poorer horses were valued by their looks. Penny weight 1.3-1.5 g gives 156-180 g. | F. L. Attenborough, The Laws of the Earliest English Kings (1922), VI Æthelstan 6 §§1-3 and notes, pp. 160-161, 213-214 (Internet Archive); Penny (English coin): early pennies weighed 1.3 to 1.5 g (Wikipedia) |
| an ox (england) | Viking age | 42 g silver | VI Æthelstan 6 §2 values an ox 'at a mancus'; the Latin Quadripartitus glosses this as 30 pence (and the mancus was a unit of 30 pence); 30 × 1.4 g = 42 g. Compensation tariff. Range 39-45 g for pennies of 1.3-1.5 g. The Dunsæte ordinance, also in Attenborough's notes, likewise puts an ox at 30 pence. | F. L. Attenborough, The Laws of the Earliest English Kings (1922), VI Æthelstan 6 §§1-3 and notes, pp. 160-161, 213-214 (Internet Archive); Penny (English coin): early pennies weighed 1.3 to 1.5 g (Wikipedia); Mancus (Wikipedia) |
| a cow (england) | Viking age | 28 g silver | VI Æthelstan 6 §2: a cow 'at twenty pence'; 20 × 1.4 g = 28 g. Compensation tariff. Range 26-30 g. The Dunsæte ordinance gives 24 pence for a cow. | F. L. Attenborough, The Laws of the Earliest English Kings (1922), VI Æthelstan 6 §§1-3 and notes, pp. 160-161, 213-214 (Internet Archive); Penny (English coin): early pennies weighed 1.3 to 1.5 g (Wikipedia) |
| a pig (england) | Viking age | 14 g silver | VI Æthelstan 6 §2: a pig 'at ten pence'; 10 × 1.4 g = 14 g. Compensation tariff. Range 13-15 g. The Dunsæte ordinance gives 8 pence. | F. L. Attenborough, The Laws of the Earliest English Kings (1922), VI Æthelstan 6 §§1-3 and notes, pp. 160-161, 213-214 (Internet Archive); Penny (English coin): early pennies weighed 1.3 to 1.5 g (Wikipedia) |
| a sheep (england) | Viking age | 7 g silver | VI Æthelstan 6 §2: a sheep 'at a shilling'; the Quadripartitus glosses the shilling as 5 pence (the West Saxon shilling); 5 × 1.4 g = 7 g. Compensation tariff. If the shilling were the Mercian one of 4 pence the figure would be 5.6 g; with pennies of 1.3-1.5 g the range is about 5-7.5 g. | F. L. Attenborough, The Laws of the Earliest English Kings (1922), VI Æthelstan 6 §§1-3 and notes, pp. 160-161, 213-214 (Internet Archive); Penny (English coin): early pennies weighed 1.3 to 1.5 g (Wikipedia) |
| an enslaved person (england) | Viking age | 168 g silver | VI Æthelstan 6 §3: for a stolen slave 'half a pound shall be paid' = 120 pence; 120 × 1.4 g = 168 g. Compensation paid to the owner by the guild for a stolen slave; the owner could get more 'according to the appearance of the slave'. A legal valuation from a society that bought and sold people, given here because it is one of the few prices recorded. | F. L. Attenborough, The Laws of the Earliest English Kings (1922), VI Æthelstan 6 §§1-3 and notes, pp. 160-161, 213-214 (Internet Archive); Penny (English coin): early pennies weighed 1.3 to 1.5 g (Wikipedia) |
| a legionary's pay for a year (Augustus) (roman-empire) | Roman | 878 g silver | Tacitus (Annals 1.17, AD 14): pay of 10 asses a day; at 16 asses to the denarius that is 225 denarii a year (the standard modern figure); 225 × 3.9 g (denarius at 84 to the Roman pound) = 877.5 g. Gross pay: soldiers paid for clothing, weapons and tents out of it. The denarius was about 95-98% silver under Augustus. | Tacitus, Annals 1.17 and Loeb note 3 (LacusCurtius); Pay (Roman army): summary table of stipendia (Wikipedia); Denarius: weight and fineness table, after Harl 1996 (Wikipedia) |
| a legionary's pay for a year (Augustus), in gold (roman-empire) | Roman | 70 g gold | 225 denarii a year ÷ 25 denarii per aureus = 9 aurei; 9 × 7.8 g (average aureus of Augustus) = 70.2 g. Soldiers were not normally paid in gold; this is the gold equivalent of the silver pay. | Tacitus, Annals 1.17 and Loeb note 3 (LacusCurtius); Pay (Roman army): summary table of stipendia (Wikipedia); Aureus: 25 denarii; average weights by reign, after West 1941 (Wikipedia) |
| a legionary's pay for a year (Domitian) (roman-empire) | Roman | 1 kg silver | Suetonius (Domitian 7.3) says Domitian raised pay by a quarter, 'three gold pieces' a year: 225 + 75 = 300 denarii; 300 × 3.41 g (denarius after Nero's reform, 96 to the pound) = 1,023 g. The denarius was then about 93.5% silver. The year of the rise is not given in the sources used here. | Suetonius, Domitian 7.3 (LacusCurtius); Pay (Roman army): summary table of stipendia (Wikipedia); Denarius: weight and fineness table, after Harl 1996 (Wikipedia) |
| a legionary's pay for a year (Domitian), in gold (roman-empire) | Roman | 88 g gold | 300 denarii = 12 aurei; 12 × 7.3 g (aureus at 45 to the Roman pound from Nero until Caracalla) = 87.6 g. Gold equivalent of the silver pay. The 'three gold pieces' of the rise are aurei. | Suetonius, Domitian 7.3 (LacusCurtius); Aureus: 25 denarii; average weights by reign, after West 1941 (Wikipedia) |
| a labourer's day wage (1st century AD) (roman-empire) | Roman | 4 g silver | A denarius was a day-labourer's wage (Loeb note to Tacitus Annals 1.17, where mutineers demand 'a denarius a day'; also Matthew 20:2); 1 × 3.9 g. A conventional figure, not a measured average. After Nero the denarius weighed about 3.4 g. | Tacitus, Annals 1.17 and Loeb note 3 (LacusCurtius); Denarius: weight and fineness table, after Harl 1996 (Wikipedia) |
| a thatcher's day wage (1290s) (england) | Medieval | 4 g silver | Average daily wage of a thatcher in 1291-1300, 2.5d (Dyer's table as reproduced by Hodges); penny of c. 1300 = 349.9 g Tower pound ÷ 243 = 1.44 g; 2.5 × 1.44 = 3.6 g. An average compiled by Christopher Dyer. Coin weight of sterling (92.5% silver). | K. Hodges, List of prices of medieval items (UC Davis), compiled from Dyer, Standards of Living in the Later Middle Ages (1989), Jusserand, and Norman and Pottinger; Pound sterling: Tower pound 349.9 g, 243 pence by 1279; penny of 20.25 grains (1344) and 18 grains (1351) (Wikipedia) |
| a labourer's day wage (1290s) (england) | Medieval | 1 g silver | Average daily wage of a thatcher's mate (labourer) in 1291-1300, 1d (Dyer via Hodges); 1 × 1.44 g. Unskilled assistant's rate. | K. Hodges, List of prices of medieval items (UC Davis), compiled from Dyer, Standards of Living in the Later Middle Ages (1989), Jusserand, and Norman and Pottinger; Pound sterling: Tower pound 349.9 g, 243 pence by 1279; penny of 20.25 grains (1344) and 18 grains (1351) (Wikipedia) |
| a master carpenter's day wage (1351) (england) | Medieval | 4 g silver | The Statute of Labourers 1351 fixes a master carpenter at 3d a day; penny of 18 grains from 1351 = about 1.166 g; 3 × 1.166 = 3.5 g. A legal maximum after the Black Death, pegged to pre-plague rates; Dyer's average for thatchers in the 1350s (3.5d) was already above the statute's 3d for thatchers. Other carpenters 2d (2.3 g), master masons 4d (4.7 g). | Statute of Labourers 1351, wage clause (Wikipedia, translating Statutes of the Realm); Pound sterling: Tower pound 349.9 g, 243 pence by 1279; penny of 20.25 grains (1344) and 18 grains (1351) (Wikipedia) |
| an archer's day pay (1346) (england) | Medieval | 4 g silver | Archers in the royal army of 1346 were paid 3d a day (Norman and Pottinger, via Hodges); penny of 20.25 grains (1344 standard) = about 1.312 g; 3 × 1.312 = 3.9 g. The Crécy campaign year. Mounted archers received 6d. | K. Hodges, List of prices of medieval items (UC Davis), compiled from Dyer, Standards of Living in the Later Middle Ages (1989), Jusserand, and Norman and Pottinger; Pound sterling: Tower pound 349.9 g, 243 pence by 1279; penny of 20.25 grains (1344) and 18 grains (1351) (Wikipedia) |
| a cow (1280s) (england) | Medieval | 104 g silver | A cow at 6s = 72d in 1285-1290 (Dyer via Hodges); 72 × 1.44 g = 103.7 g. A single price from estate accounts; livestock prices varied with quality, place and year. Hodges also lists a cow at 9s 5d in the mid-fourteenth century (Jusserand). | K. Hodges, List of prices of medieval items (UC Davis), compiled from Dyer, Standards of Living in the Later Middle Ages (1989), Jusserand, and Norman and Pottinger; Pound sterling: Tower pound 349.9 g, 243 pence by 1279; penny of 20.25 grains (1344) and 18 grains (1351) (Wikipedia) |
| a sheep (mid-14th century) (england) | Medieval | 20 g silver | A sheep at 1s 5d = 17d in the mid-fourteenth century (Jusserand via Hodges); 17 × 1.166 g (1351 penny) = 19.8 g. The exact year is not given; with the heavier 1344 penny (1.312 g) the figure would be 22.3 g. Hodges lists a London wether at 1s 5d in 1338 but 9-10d in Somerset. | K. Hodges, List of prices of medieval items (UC Davis), compiled from Dyer, Standards of Living in the Later Middle Ages (1989), Jusserand, and Norman and Pottinger; Pound sterling: Tower pound 349.9 g, 243 pence by 1279; penny of 20.25 grains (1344) and 18 grains (1351) (Wikipedia) |
| a skilled worker's day wage (Athens, c. 400 BC) (athens) | Iron Age & classical | 4 g silver | A skilled labourer in Athens earned one drachma a day at the end of the fifth century BC (Engen); 1 × 4.3 g (Attic drachma). Engen notes that free men, metics and slaves working on the Acropolis building projects were paid the same. | D. Engen, The Economy of Ancient Greece (EH.net Encyclopedia); Ancient drachma: Attic drachma a little over 4.3 g; wages (Wikipedia) |
| a skilled worker's day wage (Athens, 377 BC) (athens) | Iron Age & classical | 11 g silver | Two and a half drachmai a day in 377 BC (Engen); 2.5 × 4.3 g = 10.75 g. Shows wage inflation over the fourth century BC. | D. Engen, The Economy of Ancient Greece (EH.net Encyclopedia); Ancient drachma: Attic drachma a little over 4.3 g; wages (Wikipedia) |
| a hoplite's day pay at the siege of Potidaea (432-430 BC) (athens) | Iron Age & classical | 9 g silver | Thucydides 3.17.4: each hoplite drew 'two drachmae a day, one for himself and another for his servant'; 2 × 4.3 g = 8.6 g. Includes the servant's drachma; the soldier's own share was one drachma (4.3 g). Thucydides gives this as a reason the siege drained Athens' funds. | Thucydides 3.17.4, trans. Crawley (Perseus); Ancient drachma: Attic drachma a little over 4.3 g; wages (Wikipedia) |
| a juror's day fee (Athens, from 425 BC) (athens) | Iron Age & classical | 2 g silver | Jurors received half a drachma (three obols) a day after Cleon raised the fee in 425 BC; 0.5 × 4.3 g = 2.15 g. Wikipedia cites Aristophanes (Knights, Wasps) for the fee; earlier it was lower. | Ancient drachma: Attic drachma a little over 4.3 g; wages (Wikipedia) |
| a medimnos of wheat (Athens, c. 400 BC) (athens) | Iron Age & classical | 13 g silver | Wheat cost 3 drachmai per medimnos at the end of the fifth century BC (Engen); 3 × 4.3 g = 12.9 g. A medimnos held 48 choinikes, a choinix being one man's daily ration (Engen), so about 48 days' bread for one person. | D. Engen, The Economy of Ancient Greece (EH.net Encyclopedia); Ancient drachma: Attic drachma a little over 4.3 g; wages (Wikipedia) |
Units of weight
- Viking-age ounce (øre, eyrir): about 24.0 g. Plain silver arm-rings from Scotland and Man cluster at 24.0 ± 0.8 g, 'equivalent to the Norwegian øre' (Warner and Graham-Campbell 1978). The Gigha weights suggest a unit of 12.5 g, so an ounce of about 25 g. Regional standards varied; treat as about 24-25 g. [R. Warner and J. A. Graham-Campbell, Scottish silver arm-rings: an analysis of weights, PSAS 107 (1978), 136-143] [Viking weights and measures (Hunterian Museum, Glasgow, archived)]
- Anglo-Saxon silver penny (8th-10th centuries): about 1.4 g. Early pennies weighed 1.3 to 1.5 g; individual coins range more widely (about 1.0-1.7 g over the whole period). [Penny (English coin): early pennies weighed 1.3 to 1.5 g (Wikipedia)]
- Mancus (30 pence; gold weight): about 4.25 g. As a unit of account a mancus was 30 silver pence (about 42 g of silver). As a gold weight it was about 4.25 g (Grierson, via Wikipedia); Attenborough gives 'about 70 grains' (about 4.5 g). [Mancus (Wikipedia)] [F. L. Attenborough, The Laws of the Earliest English Kings (1922), VI Æthelstan 6 §§1-3 and notes, pp. 160-161, 213-214 (Internet Archive)]
- Tower pound (English mint pound): about 349.9 g. 5,400 grains. Struck into 240 pennies at first, 243 by 1279, more after 1344. [Pound sterling: Tower pound 349.9 g, 243 pence by 1279; penny of 20.25 grains (1344) and 18 grains (1351) (Wikipedia)]
- English sterling penny, 1279-1344: about 1.44 g. 349.9 g ÷ 243. Sterling silver, 92.5% fine. [Pound sterling: Tower pound 349.9 g, 243 pence by 1279; penny of 20.25 grains (1344) and 18 grains (1351) (Wikipedia)]
- English sterling penny, 1351-1412: about 1.166 g. 18 grains of sterling silver. The 1344-51 penny was 20.25 grains (about 1.31 g). [Pound sterling: Tower pound 349.9 g, 243 pence by 1279; penny of 20.25 grains (1344) and 18 grains (1351) (Wikipedia)]
- Roman pound (libra): about 326.6 g. About 326.6 g. [Solidus: 72 to the Roman pound of about 326.6 g (Wikipedia)]
- Denarius under Augustus: about 3.9 g. 1/84 Roman pound, 95-98% silver. Reduced to 1/96 pound (about 3.4 g) under Nero, then progressively debased. [Denarius: weight and fineness table, after Harl 1996 (Wikipedia)]
- Aureus under Augustus: about 7.8 g. Average 7.80 g; 1/40 pound under Caesar, 1/45 (about 7.3 g) from Nero, lighter again in the third century. Worth 25 denarii. [Aureus: 25 denarii; average weights by reign, after West 1941 (Wikipedia)]
- Solidus (from Constantine I, c. 312): about 4.5 g. Struck at 72 to the Roman pound: about 4.45-4.5 g (Harl gives 4.48 g). Lightweight solidi of 20-23 carats were also struck in the 6th-7th centuries. [Solidus: 72 to the Roman pound of about 326.6 g (Wikipedia)] [K. W. Harl, Finances under Justinian (Tulane handout, archived): solidus 4.48 g]
- Attic drachma: about 4.3 g. A little over 4.3 g; the Attic tetradrachm about 17.2 g. Other Greek standards differed. [Ancient drachma: Attic drachma a little over 4.3 g; wages (Wikipedia)]
- Attic talent (6,000 drachmae): about 25992 g. About 26 kg of silver. Engen reckons a talent at about nine years' wages for a skilled worker at 377 BC rates. [Attic talent (Wikipedia)]
- Florentine gold florin (from 1252): about 3.5 g. 54 grains (about 3.5 g) of nominally fine gold; the first issue is given as 3.49 g. [Florin (Wikipedia)]