Tolls

[sdi]

1. In ancient Greece, a drachma was the average daily wage of a skilled laborer, and was divided into six obols, which were silver coins. The dead would be buried with one, in order to pay the wage of Charon, who ferried the dead to the underworld.

2. Median income in the USA in 2023 was $44,225. That's ~$121 a day, and a sixth of that is ~$20.

3. The current spot price of silver is $23 an ounce, and an ounce is simply a silver coin.

4. That is to say, obols have kept their value over time. I suppose Charon still accepts them?

Comments

[emmanuelg]

In the time of Benjamin Franklin, an ounce of Gold would buy you a really nice Men's suit. Today--It still does....

[thinking_turtle]

The house I grew up in was worth 50,000 guilders in 1970. 1970 guilder coins contained real silver and are worth 4.50 euro today. The house is on offer for 225,000 euro. 50 x 4.5 = 225, so the price of the house in silver has not changed. Kind of amazing when you think about it!