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<p>[QUOTE="EWC3, post: 4139925, member: 93416"]Further to my last – I note that most coin people date the start of the Byzantine period to Anastasius, following Grierson, Sear etc. Grierson mentions this practice went back to Wroth in 1908. Grierson also says he chose it himself exactly because of the “decisive change” in the creation of the “Byzantine follis” by Anastasius. Its kind of disappointing that, if the start of the Byzantine period itself can be credited to a monetary reform, we still do not have easy access to the primary documents explaining why it happened. But actually, the situation in the online world is very much worse than that.</p><p><br /></p><p>Wikipedia includes a page devoted to “Byzantine Economics” which runs to about 5,000 words. It avoids mentioning the fact that Anastasius ever reformed the currency! That dire situation is not untypical of the level of coverage monetary and coinage history gets on line in general, in my experience. To be honest, I find it puzzling that few others speak up on the matter.</p><p><br /></p><p>More than 150 years ago Dickens wrote these lines, which I judge can be adopted today to describe many modern attempts to explain important aspect of monetary history:</p><p><br /></p><p><i>The Circumlocution Office </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i> This glorious establishment had been early in the field, when the one sublime principle involving the difficult art of governing a country, was first distinctly revealed to statesmen. It had been foremost to study that bright revelation and to carry its shining influence through the whole of the official proceedings. Whatever was required to be done, the Circumlocution Office was beforehand with all the public departments in the art of perceiving — HOW NOT TO DO IT. </i></p><p><br /></p><p>Rob T[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="EWC3, post: 4139925, member: 93416"]Further to my last – I note that most coin people date the start of the Byzantine period to Anastasius, following Grierson, Sear etc. Grierson mentions this practice went back to Wroth in 1908. Grierson also says he chose it himself exactly because of the “decisive change” in the creation of the “Byzantine follis” by Anastasius. Its kind of disappointing that, if the start of the Byzantine period itself can be credited to a monetary reform, we still do not have easy access to the primary documents explaining why it happened. But actually, the situation in the online world is very much worse than that. Wikipedia includes a page devoted to “Byzantine Economics” which runs to about 5,000 words. It avoids mentioning the fact that Anastasius ever reformed the currency! That dire situation is not untypical of the level of coverage monetary and coinage history gets on line in general, in my experience. To be honest, I find it puzzling that few others speak up on the matter. More than 150 years ago Dickens wrote these lines, which I judge can be adopted today to describe many modern attempts to explain important aspect of monetary history: [I]The Circumlocution Office This glorious establishment had been early in the field, when the one sublime principle involving the difficult art of governing a country, was first distinctly revealed to statesmen. It had been foremost to study that bright revelation and to carry its shining influence through the whole of the official proceedings. Whatever was required to be done, the Circumlocution Office was beforehand with all the public departments in the art of perceiving — HOW NOT TO DO IT. [/I] Rob T[/QUOTE]
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