Denarius Converter by Stefan Kloppenborg

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DCHindley
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Location: Ohio, USA

Denarius Converter by Stefan Kloppenborg

Post by DCHindley »

To guarantee that no one reads this except those who are serious about understanding the socio-economic context of the Roman world, I'd thought I'd post this here:

Denarius Converter v1.0 - 1360 KB
Denarius Converter will convert various ancient units to other ancient units and modern units.
For example, if one wanted to convert one modius to bushels, Denarius Converter could do it.
Denarius Converter can convert units in the following catagories:
- Monetary
- Linear
- Area
- Dry Measures
- Liquid Measures
Denarius Converter also allows one to edit, add and delete conversion factors.
One can set a shekel to equal ninety assarion or one (the default is 64).
Denarius Converter even allows one to convert prices to real value and visa-versa, for example, one loaf of bread cost one assarion.
Denarius Converter also allows one to merge other Denarius Converter Data files with the ones already one the computer. You can download other data files from ... other Denarius Converter users [sorry, I do not have any, but someone else might]. If there is a conversion that appears in both files which is different, you can delete one or rename one (or both).
Denarius Converter even comes with a simple buil[t]-in numerical calculator.
System Requirements: Windows 95 or higher [or Windows] NT [or higher]
Denarius Converter is free for individual use.
Stefan Kloppenborg
skloppen@...
http://www11.brinkster.com/denarius/ [link is dead]
http://wcarchive.cdrom.com/pub/simtelne ... narius.zip [download works]

My little review was here:
http://www.earlywritings.com/forum/view ... 386&p=7426
some may remember a shareware program that was circulating about in the 1990s called "Denarius Converter" by Stefan Kloppenborg (I think he may be the son of John Kloppenborg of Q fame). His program gives the ... conversion for money and linear, area, dry and liquid measures ...

I once asked him via e-mail where he got these equations, and he simply said "from common sources" (which I took to mean he didn't remember anymore and had not bothered to document them). In some cases he is very precise and in others he is very general, probably representing the sources he used. When there were regional differences (either in actual measurement or using Greek terms with their own specific meanings for Roman measures of different value), he indicates "min" "avg" and "max" values, often generally stated.

Unfortunately, Stefan has gone on to pursue other things that do not relate to ancient history ...


Windows operating system has evolved, and old 16 bit programs no longer work, I use Windows 7 (I'm old fashioned and HATE the Win8 user interface) but it still works for me. There is an installation program that creates the necessary help files and registry values.

DCH
Attachments
denarius.zip
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Last edited by DCHindley on Sun May 21, 2017 4:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
ficino
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Joined: Fri Oct 25, 2013 6:15 pm

Re: Denarius Converter by Stefan Kloppenborg

Post by ficino »

Thanks, David. I need to know how many minae were the value of 1000 drachmas in Athens in c. 380 BCE. So I appreciate your posting this. i wasn't able to make head or tail of the many files included in the zip file, though, and I don't want to download any viruses. Can you derive the answer to the above question from what you have on your computer?

From what I've found, the value of 1000 drachmas would be five minae. But perhaps Kloppenborg's stuff would yield a different result.

Thanks, f
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DCHindley
Posts: 3411
Joined: Mon Oct 07, 2013 9:53 am
Location: Ohio, USA

Re: Denarius Converter by Stefan Kloppenborg

Post by DCHindley »

ficino wrote:Thanks, David. I need to know how many minae were the value of 1000 drachmas in Athens in c. 380 BCE. So I appreciate your posting this. i wasn't able to make head or tail of the many files included in the zip file, though, and I don't want to download any viruses. Can you derive the answer to the above question from what you have on your computer?

From what I've found, the value of 1000 drachmas would be five minae. But perhaps Kloppenborg's stuff would yield a different result.

Thanks, f
As I noted, the values seem to be from the Roman period to about the mid 2nd century CE, before the super-inflation hit them hard.

1000 drachma (silver)

=16000.000000 assarion
=40.000000 aureus
=48000.076800 chalkos
=1000.000000 denarius
=1000.000000 drachma (silver)
=100000.000000 dr. (cu) (V BCE)
=60002.400096 dr. (cu) (IV-220 BCE)
=120004.800192 dr. (cu) (220-149 BCE)
=112007.168459 dr. (cu) (149-89 BCE)
=56000.448004 dr. (cu) (89-III CE)
=12000.048000 dupondion
=127991.808524 lepton
=10.000000 mina
=9.615385 mnaieion
=6000.024000 obol
=64000.000000 quadrans
=4000.000000 sesterce
=250.000000 shekel
=250.000000 stater
=0.166667 talent
=250.000000 tetradrachma

I do not know if the conversion rate in 380 BCE was different than in Roman times, but if you do discover this, the Denarius converter program will allow you to create a modified data file for Athenian drachmae. Now that I think about it, there are conversions of area that include minimum values for the plethron that correspond to the classical Greek measure and a maximum value for when the Greek term is used as a substitute for the Roman iugerum, so the range of values may project back to classical times.

This website
http://www.personal.utulsa.edu/~marc-ca ... /coin.html
would also calculate 10 minae for 1000 drachmae in the pre-Hellenic Greek period.

DCH

PS: Your Anti-Virus program should automatically scan the file as you download it. Also, to open a ZIP file, you need something like PKZip for Windows, which lets you peek inside before outputting them wherever you extract them to. I also think your Anti-Virus program should automatically scan the files as they are extracted, but if you are unsure, you can right click on it in Windows Explorer and Scan with your Anti-Virus and/or Malware program.

Using Norton 360:

Scan Statistics:
Scan Start:
Local: 2/8/2015 10:09 AM
UTC: 2/8/2015 3:09 PM
Scan Time: 4 seconds
Scan Targets: C:\Users\Hindley\Downloads\denarius.zip
Counts:
Total items scanned: 17
- Files & Directories: 17
- Registry Entries: 0
- Processes & Start-up Items: 0
- Network & Browser Items: 0
- Other: 0
- Trusted Files: 0
- Skipped Files: 0

Total security risks detected: 0
Total items resolved: 0
Total items that require attention: 0

Resolved Threats:
No risks have been resolved

Unresolved Threats:
No unresolved risks

Using Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
http://www.malwarebytes.org

Scan Date: 2/8/2015
Scan Time: 10:13:40 AM
Logfile:
Administrator: Yes

Version: 2.00.4.1028
Malware Database: v2015.02.08.04
Rootkit Database: v2015.02.03.01
License: Premium
Malware Protection: Enabled
Malicious Website Protection: Enabled
Self-protection: Disabled

OS: Windows 7 Service Pack 1
CPU: x64
File System: NTFS
User: Hindley

Scan Type: Threat Scan
Result: Completed
Objects Scanned: 1
Time Elapsed: 0 min, 33 sec

Memory: Disabled
Startup: Disabled
Filesystem: Enabled
Archives: Enabled
Rootkits: Disabled
Heuristics: Enabled
PUP: Enabled
PUM: Enabled

Processes: 0
(No malicious items detected)
Modules: 0
(No malicious items detected)
Registry Keys: 0
(No malicious items detected)
Registry Values: 0
(No malicious items detected)
Registry Data: 0
(No malicious items detected)
Folders: 0
(No malicious items detected)
Files: 0
(No malicious items detected)
Physical Sectors: 0
(No malicious items detected)
(end)

Since I have actually up to date subscriptions for both of these products, you should be safe. If you use MAC/Apple, of course, everyone "knows" they do not get viruses. :tombstone:

DCH
ficino
Posts: 745
Joined: Fri Oct 25, 2013 6:15 pm

Re: Denarius Converter by Stefan Kloppenborg

Post by ficino »

Aristotle in Ath. Pol. 10.1 says that Solon brought the value of mina from 70 drachmas up to the full 100. I have read that originally, the drachma was a unit of value, and the mina was a weight. The amount of silver in a drachma varied over time, but there were also copper drachmas. I am not up on numismatics!
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DCHindley
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Re: Denarius Converter by Stefan Kloppenborg

Post by DCHindley »

ficino wrote:Aristotle in Ath. Pol. 10.1 says that Solon brought the value of mina from 70 drachmas up to the full 100. I have read that originally, the drachma was a unit of value, and the mina was a weight. The amount of silver in a drachma varied over time, but there were also copper drachmas. I am not up on numismatics!
As far as I can tell, these are silver drachma coins and the rate of conversion was the number of drachmas that could be coined from a mina weight of silver. However, the purity of the silver might affect the number of drachmas that could be produced from a minah of "pure" silver.

Aristotle, Constitution of Athens,
10.1 Solon therefore seems to have laid down these enactments of a popular nature in his laws; while before his legislation his democratic reform was his cancellation of debts, and afterwards his raising the standard of the measures and weights and of the coinage. 10.2 For it was in his time that the measures were made larger than those of Pheidon, [Note]King of Argos, probably early 7th century B.C., see Aristot. Pol. 1310b 26. His standard of coinage and weights and measures came to prevail through most of Greece. and that the mina, which previously had a weight of seventy drachmae, [Note]i.e. seventy of the new drachmae; the drachma coin was also enlarged, so that seventy of the new equalled one hundred of the old; and see note on 4.1. was increased to the full hundred. The ancient coin-type was the two-drachma piece. Solon also instituted weights corresponding to the currency, the talent weighing sixty-three minae, and a fraction proportionate to the additional three minae was added to the stater [Note]The weight of a fiftieth part of a mina. and the other weights.


My wife is stomping about upstairs, indicating she wants to go to the grocery store, so I cannot think about this at the moment. I will try to do so later, but we may get a snowstorm and if so, I will get to break in my new $679 snow thrower. :eek:

DCH
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DCHindley
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Location: Ohio, USA

Re: Denarius Converter by Stefan Kloppenborg

Post by DCHindley »

ficino wrote:Aristotle in Ath. Pol. 10.1 says that Solon brought the value of mina from 70 drachmas up to the full 100. I have read that originally, the drachma was a unit of value, and the mina was a weight. The amount of silver in a drachma varied over time, but there were also copper drachmas. I am not up on numismatics!
Well, didn't get to use the snow thrower (got freezing rain instead) ...

I researched this matter a bit. Solon's activities in reorganizing things in Athens to allow it to compete in international trade is wrapped a bit in myth and interpretive obscurity. Some of the things he is said to have done, such as changing weights, measures and issuing coins, are now believed to have actually occurred after his time. This includes the famous change from equating 70 drachmas to the mina to 100 drachmas is one of them, as there is not a lot of hard evidence that the drachma was even issued as a coin in his time. I've seen one explanation that assumes it all relates to change in interest rates that can be charged for loans (reduced from 18% to 12%).

I located three online articles, from mild to wild:

1) J. G. Milne, "The Economic Policy of Solon", Hesperia Volume 14 Issue 3, Pages 230-245, July 01, 1945 (mild)
2) Gil Davis, "Dating the Drachmas in Solon's Laws", Historia Band 61 •Heft 2, • 2012 (medium)
3) Livio C. Stecchini, chapter "The Solonian Reform", in A History of Measures, ca. 1960 (wild).

Like one's preference for hot wings, either choose your favorite flavor or sample them all.

Anyways, the equation of 100 drachmae to the mina (at least by Athenian reckoning) seems to have been firmly entrenched since the 500's BCE, around the time that coined money became the norm in the Greek sphere of influence. However, each city state had its own take on things, that may vary from this "norm".

DCH (no expert by any means)
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