Comparative values of hammered coins

[hedgehog]

Every now and then a farmer will ask what a silver penny would have bought at the time and I usually "wing it" and say , a gallon of beer , 4 pounds of meat , 3 doz eggs etc;
I have just been looking for values again and this seems a fair assessment, anyone got a better one?

Wages: Most medieval people never saw the gold coins. The most menial labor would gain a minimum wage, no more than perhaps 3d/day
(about $12), enough to live on but need to work the next day. This pay obviously went up in times of labor scarcity (up to 10d/day after the
plague). Journeymen and craftsmen could expect to earn more, perhaps as much as 12d/day. This would be enough to provide subsistence for a
family, but not much more. The thrifty might save some money (many hoards found made up of several hundred pennies). A savvy merchant
could expect to make much more, especially if they plowed profits back into their business. Some merchants might earn several pounds(£)/day.
Common soldiers usually earned between 4d and 8d/day depending on who was paying them and their theater of operation. Household retainers,
depending on their status would usually earn an annuity (+room and board) anywhere from £5 to £10. Knights would usually receive some sort
of annuity (£10-£50) from the king in return for their service in addition to rents from their lands and profits from their farms (could amount to
£100’s/yr). Town leaders and master craftsmen would likely also receive annuities from their cities and/or guilds. In the 1400s the Noble (6s 8d)
appears to have become a standard fee for many types of professional service, which is why it’s removal was very unpopular and was soon
replaced with the Angel. It appears, however, that even with labor variations, earnings were rather stable throughout the middle ages.
Expenses: Due in large part to the lack of mechanized production, most products cost slightly more in the middle ages than they do today. There
is considerable debate, but in 1100, the penny was the equivalent of $4. Using this figure, we can estimate that 2 to 3d/day would be required to
subsist at a basic level. Some basic prices (ca. 1300-1400) follow: lb wool = 3.25d, lb cheese = 0.5d, lb butter 0.75d, lb wax = 6d, 120 eggs =
4.5d, lb candles = 1.25d, bu salt = 5.125d, doz. ells linen = 5s, yd. 1st quality cloth = 3s 3d, yd 2nd qual. Cloth = 1s 3d, yd velvet = 20s, ox =
13s, sheep = 1s 5d, cart horse = 20s, saddle horse = £3-£8, war horse = £10+, goose = 3.5d. book = 45s, shirt = 15d. Some prices were fairly
constant through the period: 1 lb pepper = 1s 5d, lb sugar = 1s, lb saffron = 8s 5.25d, lb ginger = 1s 6.5d.
Refs:

[Kev]

thats great info hedgehog, 

[Neil]

Thats a really interesting post Hedgehog- I've seen it before but never took it in. Eggs were damn cheap - omletes all round I guess!