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<p>[QUOTE="Only a Poor Old Man, post: 7431544, member: 111037"]Excellent write up [USER=95174]@BenSi[/USER] . Just to add something to it, the reason that a reform was necessary in the first place was that the gold coinage had become almost worthless due to debasement. In the good old days all the way up to the 10th century the Byzantine solidi were used all over the known world and were famous for their purity. The gold content and weight had barely changed for 7 centuries I think. </p><p><br /></p><p>That was until Constantine IX came and started the gradual debasement. Emperor after emperor that followed debased the coins even more, and by the time Alexios came in power they hardly resembled gold coins any more.</p><p><br /></p><p>My example from that financially turbulent period is from Michael Ducas, who happens to be one of the most affordable emperors collecting wise for some reason. The purity at that point was around 75% if I recall correctly.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1289950[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Only a Poor Old Man, post: 7431544, member: 111037"]Excellent write up [USER=95174]@BenSi[/USER] . Just to add something to it, the reason that a reform was necessary in the first place was that the gold coinage had become almost worthless due to debasement. In the good old days all the way up to the 10th century the Byzantine solidi were used all over the known world and were famous for their purity. The gold content and weight had barely changed for 7 centuries I think. That was until Constantine IX came and started the gradual debasement. Emperor after emperor that followed debased the coins even more, and by the time Alexios came in power they hardly resembled gold coins any more. My example from that financially turbulent period is from Michael Ducas, who happens to be one of the most affordable emperors collecting wise for some reason. The purity at that point was around 75% if I recall correctly. [ATTACH=full]1289950[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]
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