Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Finn235, post: 3509520, member: 98035&quot;]We have precious little information on purchasing power and inflation during any period of Roman history, and what little information we have is highly regional. Asking what a denarius would buy in early 3rd century Rome is like asking how much rent is in the US in 2019 - Do you mean in San Francisco Bay, or Po-Dunksville, North Dakota?</p><p><br /></p><p>Debasement was a normal theme for silver coinage from the Republic until the system collapsed in the last half of the third century. In theory, the debasement was more or less irrelevant as long as the economy was strong, which was the case while Rome expanded until the time of Trajan, then consistently collected her taxes until the end of the Severan dynasty. Like the US dollar, the denarius was kept afloat mostly by faith in its status as &quot;good money&quot;.</p><p><br /></p><p>The joint threats of raids from barbarians across the entire north and the expansionism of Shapur I to the east depleted the abilities of the frontiers to pay taxes, which spurred further debasement to keep the troops paid so they could be marched off just to die on the battlefield or of plague. Runaway inflation took hold during the time of Valerian, as evidenced by the sudden disappearance of virtually anything that wasn&#039;t an antoninianus.</p><p><br /></p><p>The progression of inflation is evident in the denominational structure of the ancient coins over time:</p><p>- Julio-Claudian bronzes are much more common than silvers, BUT Trajan ordered the melting and recoining of all pre-Nero denarii in circulation, so we don&#039;t really know how many were minted or circulated in the first place.</p><p>- All denominations are common from the time of Vespasian through Marcus Aurelius, but the as and dupondius become less common. Quadrans apparently stopped being made around this time.</p><p>- Denarii take over during the time of the Severans, but all denominations are made</p><p>- Denarius is replaced by antoninianus during reign of Gordian III; rarely issued after. As and Dupondius become much more scarce. Surface enrichment is needed by the time of Aemilian</p><p>- Valerian and Gallienus were last to issue general-circulation small denominations, although they are all rare compares to antoninianii. </p><p>- Aurelian reformed the currency and a tempted to reintroduce bronze denominations and denarii, but failed; the damage was irreversible.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in