The wages of the judges were similar to that of lawyers. It was probably the same as in our day: those “appointed to be judges” (v. 1) were selected from the law profession (see Alma 10:31–32 and 11:20). While payment for their time was based on an equitable system, the love of money had turned the profession to unrighteousness.
The value of the various pieces of gold and silver fluctuating in the day of King Mosiah is also similar to the market of today (v. 4). Not reckoning “after the manner of the Jews” (v. 4) probably means they did not use the system of money used in Jerusalem. Not measuring “after the manner of the Jews” is probably saying they divided their coins into a different number of coins than the Jews. For example, our dollar is divided into one hundred pennies with coins representing five, ten, twenty-five, or fifty pennies. The Nephite breakdown follows.