§634. Measures of Value, etc
The sēstertium (probably originally the genitive plural of sēstertius depending on mīlle) was a sum of money, not a coin; the word is inflected regularly as a neuter noun: thus, tria sēstertia = $150.00.
When sēstertium is combined with a numeral adverb, centēna mīlia, hundreds of thousands, is to be understood: thus deciēns sēstertium ( deciēns HS) = deciēns centēna mīlia sēstertium = $50,000. Sēstertium in this combination may also be inflected: deciēns sēstertiī, sēstertiō, etc.
In the statement of large sums sēstertium is often omitted as well as centēna mīlia: thus sexāgiēns
(Rosc. Am. 2) signifies, sexāgiēns [ centēna mīlia sēstertium] = 6,000,000 sesterces=$300,000 (nearly).
J. H. Allen and J. B. Greenough, New Latin Grammar (Boston: Ginn, 1903). Text provided under a CC BY-SA license by Perseus Digital Library, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu, with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities.