What cost one penny in 1595?

Answer 1

One can approach this question from two standpoints: the purchasing power of a penny, and the amount of labour someone had to put in to earn a penny. From the purchasing point of view, you could buy one or two loaves of bread for a penny, making a penny worth two to four US dollars. From the earning point of view, however, a tradesman could earn a shilling or twelve pence a day and unskilled labourers might make 7 to ninepence a day (their wage included food which we are estimating at fourpence daily). A worker earning minimum wage in a developed country can earn between 25 and 55 dollars a day, making the penny worth 4 to 8 dollars.

A penny could buy you a cheap ticket to the theatre, or a loaf of bread or two, or a couple of quarts of ale, three eggs, a bed in an inn for one night or a cheaply-printed one-page song. A shilling (twelve pence--this is a tradesman's daily pay, remember), could buy you four pounds of beef, a pair of shoes, a quart of wine, a couple of small books, 4 pounds of butter and a quarter pound of pepper. A pound sterling (this is 240 pennies--three weeks' wages) could buy you a horse or a pound of sugar.