TLDR Assuming Augustan values (lasted a few hundred years) [2]: Assuming these are Solidus (4.5g = 1/2 Aureus)and not Aureus (8g = 25 denari), there are 12.5

TLDR Assuming Augustan values (lasted a few hundred years) [2]: Assuming these are Solidus (4.5g = 1/2 Aureus)and not Aureus (8g = 25 denari), there are 12.5 denari per coin or 3750 denari equivalent. Which is the wage of 20 pedes (lowest infantry). Or $5k/year salary. Actually that's not that bad considering it was 2000 years ago, the pedes were cannon (arrow) fodder, and compared to most of the world or the poorest counties in WV ($16k household income [3]). I don't use the Diocletian values in [2] except to establish the Aurus Solidus relationship (since you assumed 5g) because Diocletian is considered a debaser, Augustus' reform lasted hundreds of years, and by Diocletian's time the Empire was in steep decline. I didn't read the article so I don't know if these are Diocletian coins, but it doesn't really matter. What matters is, for most of the Roman Empire period, how much was 1.5 Kg of gold worth compared to today? Not that much then or now. Certainly within an order of magnitude of the lowest paid wage earner. [1] http://hadrianswallcountry.co.uk/sites/default/files/Pay%20Scales(1).pdf http://hadrianswallcountry.co.uk/sites/default/files/Pay%20S... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_currency#Equivalences https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_currency#Equivalences [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_lowest-income_counties_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_lowest-income_counties...