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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Marsyas Mike, post: 2883524, member: 85693&quot;]Interesting thread, Curtisimo - thanks for bringing it up.&nbsp; I think both Domitian and Severus Alexander made efforts to bump up the silver content early in their respective reigns, then gave up.&nbsp; I&#039;m still puzzled by the fairly frequent occurrence of overweight antoniniani - those 5 gram examples that defy all efforts to historically justify (there&#039;s been some interesting posts here).&nbsp; Or for that matter, what the heck is an antoninianus exactly?&nbsp; There&#039;s some seriously weird information out there - a 5th century Frankish grave full of denarii of Antoninus Pius, etc.?&nbsp; Were these circulating, or were they special quasi-jewelry heirloom pieces?&nbsp; <a href="http://www.academia.edu/1171510/The_Coins_in_the_Grave_of_King_Childeric" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.academia.edu/1171510/The_Coins_in_the_Grave_of_King_Childeric" rel="nofollow">http://www.academia.edu/1171510/The_Coins_in_the_Grave_of_King_Childeric</a></p><p><br /></p><p>Here&#039;s a good article on debasement, etc.</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/historia/de-basement/economy.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/historia/de-basement/economy.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.forumancientcoins.com/historia/de-basement/economy.html</a></p><p><br /></p><p>The question of debasement and Gresham&#039;s Law is very interesting in regards to Roman coinage.&nbsp; Money is funny, and how exactly money is used by people is fraught with all sorts of complications having little to do with, say, silver content.&nbsp; Those cruddy 4th century bronze coins often show considerable circulation wear, which is to say they were used.&nbsp; What choice do you have?&nbsp; I&#039;ve read somewhere that these little bronze coins were distributed in bags of 1000 or more - much the way Chinese cash coins were tied together in big groups.&nbsp; This sort of currency - a far cry from good silver - worked for centuries. </p><p><br /></p><p>And it works today - as bad as a little bitty radiate was, a Roman of 450 AD would be astonished by our used of strips of paper (i.e. Federal Reserve Notes), and baffled by an e-check or online whatever.&nbsp; Like the Romans, we use what is available.&nbsp; And no, I do not understand &quot;Quantitative Easing&quot; but it has something to do with money supply.&nbsp; So did William Jennings Bryan and the farmer and workingman being &quot;crucified&quot; on a &quot;cross of gold.&quot;&nbsp; So does the fact that my paycheck went virtual about five years ago and consists of digits on a screen.&nbsp; If it works we use it (again, what choice do we have?). </p><p><br /></p><p>As a collector, however, I call it &quot;silver&quot; if it looks silver; if it&#039;s brown, it&#039;s not.&nbsp; My guess is the coins below wildly vary in fineness, but I call &#039;em &quot;silver&quot; - just as a kind of shorthand, not as a precise definition.&nbsp;&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]691562[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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