How much was a farthing worth during Jesus' time?

Answer 1

A farthing is a quarter of something. In the context of medieval money, it is 1/4 of a sliver penny. Medieval money did not have an abstract value like modern money, it was simply precious metal, in most cases sliver. The basic coin in medieval England was the penny (12 pennies made a shilling, 20 shillings made a pound, which was litterally a pound of silver). A penny was still a significant amount of money, so they were sometimes cut into halves and quarters for small purchases.

So what could you actually do with a farthing? Wages and prices varied over time and by local economic conditions, so these are broad generalization. Laborers and craftsmen earned anywhere from two to six pennies a day. Workers sometimes received meals and goods in addition to wages, which also makes it harder to relate medieval to modern wages. Your penny (and there were four farthings to a penny) would buy you a loaf of bread (the size and weight varied by the current cost of grain) a hen fit for the stew pot (meaning old and not producing eggs anymore) would cost half a penny to a penny. Two farthings might get you a dozen eggs or pound of cheese. One farthing might buy a quart of average beer.

Answer 2

In Jesus' time, the Farthing would not be invented for another 1,000 years.