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<p>[QUOTE="dougsmit, post: 2093056, member: 19463"]I know nothing. That does not put me far behind the scholars and probably ahead of the ones that assume they know something because of some tidbit of evidence they think applies. We assume that the silver siliqua was 1/24th of a gold solidus. The operative word is 'assume' since we do not have documentary evidence. My opinion (notice I said 'my' and 'opinion') is that they did not circulate much. They are not terribly common and they are not commonly seen well worn. I rather suspect that there were some places where some people culturally preferred silver and Rome made coins for those markets. When I was a kid, the US silver dollar was a lot easier to find actually in use in the West than in the rest of the country where civilized people used halves. In that same day people looked at you funny if you had $2 bills since these were associated with horse race tracks. Money is cultural. We know that there were adjustments to coin evaluations and relationships but we do not have a grasp on the complete list or the 'whys' in most cases. Those interested in this sort of thing might enjoy the book <b>Coinage in the Roman Economy</b> by Kenneth Harl but it will leave you with more questions than answers. I will suggest readers try to avoid making assumptions of Roman economics based on what you know about modern systems. For that matter, what worked in 300 did not necessarily apply in 350 or in Alexandria as in Rome. Harl gives a lot of interesting evidence but not simple answers. Realists may recognize that our modern world where gasoline bounces up and down like a ball and is different on opposite corners of the same intersection by a dime and opposite corners of the country by a dollar. My house is twice as 'valuable' as the same sticks in some places and 1/100 the cost in another where rich people congregate for the privilege of living 'there'. These same factors and 2000 years make study of the 'Roman' way a bit difficult.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="dougsmit, post: 2093056, member: 19463"]I know nothing. That does not put me far behind the scholars and probably ahead of the ones that assume they know something because of some tidbit of evidence they think applies. We assume that the silver siliqua was 1/24th of a gold solidus. The operative word is 'assume' since we do not have documentary evidence. My opinion (notice I said 'my' and 'opinion') is that they did not circulate much. They are not terribly common and they are not commonly seen well worn. I rather suspect that there were some places where some people culturally preferred silver and Rome made coins for those markets. When I was a kid, the US silver dollar was a lot easier to find actually in use in the West than in the rest of the country where civilized people used halves. In that same day people looked at you funny if you had $2 bills since these were associated with horse race tracks. Money is cultural. We know that there were adjustments to coin evaluations and relationships but we do not have a grasp on the complete list or the 'whys' in most cases. Those interested in this sort of thing might enjoy the book [B]Coinage in the Roman Economy[/B] by Kenneth Harl but it will leave you with more questions than answers. I will suggest readers try to avoid making assumptions of Roman economics based on what you know about modern systems. For that matter, what worked in 300 did not necessarily apply in 350 or in Alexandria as in Rome. Harl gives a lot of interesting evidence but not simple answers. Realists may recognize that our modern world where gasoline bounces up and down like a ball and is different on opposite corners of the same intersection by a dime and opposite corners of the country by a dollar. My house is twice as 'valuable' as the same sticks in some places and 1/100 the cost in another where rich people congregate for the privilege of living 'there'. These same factors and 2000 years make study of the 'Roman' way a bit difficult.[/QUOTE]
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