How much is 120 talents worth?

Answer 1

This is a difficult question to answer as the Talent varied depending upon the area in which it was used. As an example, the Babylonian Talent (as used in the Old Testament) was equivalent to 30.3 kg whereas in the New Testament, what was known as the 'Common talent' was equivalent to only 58.9 kg.

And, as the Talent was a unit of weight rather than of currency, its actual worth depended upon whether or not it was a Talent of silver or of gold.

Whatever its form, the Talent, transferred to a weight of gold or silver, was an extraordinary amount of money.

If we assume a New Testament talent of gold, this represents 58900 grams of gold. At today's prices (April 2011) one gram of gold is worth about US$ 46 (or £28 approx). This means that 120 talents of gold are $46 x 58900 x 120.

This is $325,128,000 or £197,904,000.