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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;John Anthony, post: 2073296, member: 42773&quot;]I think the failure of precious-metal coinage after Diocletian&#039;s reforms had to do more with the superabundance of bronze coinage and the fact that bronze specie was well-accepted as fiat currency. Think of the US transition to base metals in the 60&#039;s - it didn&#039;t slow commerce down one bit. Silver coinage was mostly hoarded for its bullion value. </p><p><br /></p><p>Probably something similar happened in the 4th-century. The people that could afford silver and gold simply kept it, which would account for the fact that most argentii are found in high grades, much like the 1964 Kennedy Half Dollars, to name one example.</p><p><br /></p><p>No doubt much of it was melted down, as Doug suggests.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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