Dissertations on Coins, Weights, 3 7

I shall therefore venture at another Emendation, and insteados vint, read nummo This Emendation is not so forced asit may seem at first Sight; for I don’t imagine that nummowas written at Length in that Place, but only its Character N.

Vid. Sertorius Ursatus , which afterwards might easilybecome NI by the Carelefnefs or Ignorance of the old Li-brarians- NI not being understood by the following ones,and the Subject being vinum> they changed NI into VIN I.

If this be admitted, the Ounce of Wine was fold for aNummus or Seft er this and all will be easy ; which may thusbe made out :

The Amphora, which contain’d 960 Ounces, was fold atfirst for 100 Nummi ; at this Rate the Ounce was worthlittle more than o • 1 of a Sefterce- But a hundred and sixtyYears afterwards, the Interest of a 100 Nummi at 6 per Cent.would amount to 160 x 6 = 960 Nummi , which being addedto the principal 100, would make 1060 Nummi in all. Ifthis Sum be divided by 960, the Number of Ounces in anAmphora , it will give 1.1 Seftertius for the Value of anOunce; and as the Fraction is but a small one, and probablywas neglected in Trade, an Ounce of this Opimian Winewas fold for a Nummus or Seftertius • Indeed Pliny seems tohave neglected the Principal of 100 Seftertii in his Account,and to have regarded only the Interest 960 Seftertii , atwhich Rate the Price of an Ounce of this Wine would be pre-cisely one Nummus or Seftertius.

I think this is rating the Price high enough ; for if theSeftertius be set at 2 d. which I take to be the true Valueof it, the Sextarius which contain’d 20 Ounces, and ex-ceeded our Pint only by a small Fraction, would have cost3 r> and 4 d- of our Money ; and two Sextarii , nearly ourQuart, 6 s. and 8 d- This I think was a fair Price for Wineat that time of day, when Wine was so excessively cheap as

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