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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Orfew, post: 3628464, member: 74968&quot;]Here is one possible answer.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><b>&quot;Domitian (September 81 AD – September 96 AD)</b></p><p><br /></p><p>The first noteworthy Roman currency reformer was Domitian, son of Vespasian and brother of Titus. He ascended in 81 AD, inheriting the problems associated with his forbear’s costly projects. Vespasian had undertaken large scale construction projects he thought necessary to repair the damage to many structures during the civil war<b>s </b>that raged throughout the late Republic.&nbsp; In addition, he paid lofty financial incentives to regime-supporting historical writers and awarded pensions of up to 1,000 gold coins annually to a coterie of court intellectuals. Titus, his son and successor, was known for the initiation of lavish and elaborate games as well as for recompensing individuals struck by unexpected natural disasters, including the eruption of the volcano Vesuvius, the Great Fire of Rome, and those affected by the outbreak of war in Britannia. Together, Titus and Vespasian committed vast resources to the construction of the Coliseum; and, consequently, during the 12 years of their emperorship, the silver content of the denarius was reduced from roughly 94% to 90% purity.</p><p><br /></p><p>Despite that precedent, “Domitian was apparently very sensitive to the importance of capital and the benefits of stability derived from a credible and dependable money supply.”[1] Thus early in his reign, in a “dramatic and entirely unexpected” move that coincided with the end of hostilities in Britain and Chatti (Germany), he fired the Empire’s financial secretary. Historians speculate that this was either because the secretary considered Domitian’s plans to improve the currency quality “unwise” or because he’d allowed such “slackness to permeate the mint” in the first place.[2] Shortly thereafter, “in 82 – 84 AD Domitian improved the silver standard, and older coins averaging 88 to 92 percent silver were reminted into purer denarii (98 percent fine)<i>”.</i>[3]</p><p><br /></p><p>However, Domitian’s currency improvement effort was short-lived due to renewed foreign warfare. Between 85 and 89, fighting in Africa, Dacia (Eastern Europe), and Chatti again broke out, such that the “purer coins had scarcely entered the marketplace when [he], in mid-85, pressed for money to pay war bills, again changed the standard, reducing it to 93 percent fine”.[4]&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>From: <a href="https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/thinkpieces/currency-reform-in-ancient-rome" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/thinkpieces/currency-reform-in-ancient-rome" rel="nofollow">https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/thinkpieces/currency-reform-in-ancient-rome</a>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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