“The Nephite monetary system was based on a barley standard, with a senine of gold or a senum of silver equal to a measure of barley” (Ludlow, Companion to Your Study of the Book of Mormon, 200). The December 1983 issue of Science magazine reported the discovery of pre-Columbian domesticated barley in Phoenix, Arizona. This is the first direct New World evidence for cultivated pre-Columbian barley in support of the Book of Mormon. See also commentary in this volume on Mosiah 7:22.
Why was the elaborate Nephite system of weights and measures inserted here? (11:20) “The Nephite system of weights and measures at the time of Mosiah is specifically outlined in Alma 11:5–19, presumably to underscore the high value of a bribe that Zeezrom offered to Amulek while Amulek was preaching in Ammonihah. Zeezrom offered six onties of silver, or the equivalent of 42 measures of grain (also equal to 42 days of pay for a Nephite judge … ), to Amulek if he would ‘deny the existence of a Supreme Being’ (Alma 11:22)” (Largey, Book of Mormon Reference Companion, 609).