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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Ardatirion, post: 986365, member: 9204&quot;]If I recall, Republican coins continued to circulate until the reign of Trajan. Even then they weren&#039;t demonetized, per se, but simply withdrawn and recoined. By that point, they would have become so worn that the government would have been able to restrike them only at a loss. At least some of them were restruck as a restoration series, bearing the same designs but with the name and titles of Trajan appended.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://www.cngcoins.com//photos/enlarged/84001018.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>The same thing happened again under Trajan Decius, when the earlier denarii were withdrawn en masse and restruck as antoniniani (effectively doubling their face value).</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://www.cngcoins.com//photos/enlarged/2130442.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>Bronze coins could circulate much longer. But, since their actual value was entirely dependent on the whims of the moneychangers, they could drop out of circulation much faster. Such was the case with many of the issues of Constantius II in the early fourth century. Meanwhile, at other times, bronzes circulated long past their &quot;expiration date.&quot; This was particularly true in the Western half of the Empire, as well as in Egypt, during the third century. That&#039;s why so many sestertii and Alexandrian drachms are found worn today. </p><p><br /></p><p>Finally, under the Ostrogothic kingdom in Italy during the 6th century AD, 300 year old asses and sestertii (probably found in the ground) were recirculated with a new value of 42 nummi.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/albums/userpics/18271/Retarrifed_Vespasian_as.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p>Vespasian AE As, 77-78 AD. Retarrifed by Ostrogothic kingdom, 6th century AD[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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