The Past Asks You: Apple Economics, 1698

Johann Hermann Knoop, Pomologia (1758)

It’s time for another puzzle from the past:

A man sent his three Sons to Market, to his Eldest he gave twenty two Apples: To the second sixteen: and to the third ten Apples, and bid them sell all at a price, and bring all Money alike.

T. T. A Rich Treasure

To review: each son has to sell all his apples. No son can set a higher price than his brothers. And each of them has to bring home the same amount of money as the others. How will the clever trio accommodate the economically incoherent demands of their father? If you think you have what it takes to be a 17th-century apprentice fruit vendor, post your answer in the comments. I’ll add the 1698 solution tomorrow.