Monetary Reforms of the Roman Empire

From Nero to Diocletian. We trace how the emperors changed the composition and system of money.

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The Story of Rome's Disappearing Silver, in 3 Minutes

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1 / 9

Roman silver coins started out as almost pure silver, weighing about 4 grams.

This silver coin was called the denarius.

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64 AD

Emperor Nero made the silver coins lighter. From then on, the amount of silver kept decreasing.

Each new emperor started from the reduced silver content of the last.

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215

Caracalla created a new silver coin, claiming it was worth double.

2 → 1.5

The coin's claimed value vs. its actual silver content (in denarii).

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Mid-3rd century

The silver content dropped to about 2 percent. The coins were just copper with a thin silver coating.

What was broken was people's trust in the money.

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From 274

Aurelian stamped the coins with a mark indicating their content. But the silver wasn't restored.

A mark alone couldn't restore trust.

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301

Diocletian set maximum prices for all goods by law.

The Edict on Maximum Prices.

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At those prices, no one would sell, and goods disappeared from the market.

Each move was just an attempt to fix the problems created by the last one.

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Constantine gave up on silver and decided to protect a single gold coin.

The solidus. It maintained its purity for 700 years.

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11th century

The purity maintained for 700 years collapsed in just a few decades.

It takes a long time to build something, but it can be destroyed quickly.

2In numbers

700years

How long the solidus gold coin maintained its purity. It collapsed in just a few decades.

3What would you do?

You are the emperor. Prices for goods keep rising. You declare, 'I will set maximum prices by law and punish anyone who breaks it.' Will this work?

Pick one

Yes. People will obey the law.

In reality, sellers who would lose money at those prices stopped selling, and goods disappeared from the market. However, some historians think the effect varied by region.

No. People will stop selling things.

That's right. No one would sell at the fixed prices, and goods disappeared from the market. This failure from 1700 years ago is still written about in textbooks today.

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Monetary Reforms of the Roman Empire — course frontispiece

What you will understand after this course

You can name, by the names of persons, the order in which Rome's silver declined.
You can explain why attempts to halt the decline did not work.
You can say how Constantine's answer differed from what came before.

More about this course

Course number: C04

Supervised by: Mitsuru Hayama

Beyond the text: 10 exercises · 4 coins · 10 readings · 1 references　How reading times are calculated

You will also understand

You can explain what differed when compared with the East (Han) of the same period.
Can name, in order, the individuals responsible for the debasement from Nero to Diocletian.
Can explain the three types of "attempts at restoration" (marks, price controls, new currency) and their outcomes.

You can start this course without reading any other course.

Also worth reading, to see the connections (optional)

Why the Composition of Gold and Silver Coins Changed
What you learn: You can explain, stage by stage, the order in which fineness falls.
The text refers to this course in sections 1, 5, 6, 8.

If you want to know more about checking sources (optional)

Is It Really True? Checking History
We re-examine the origins of money and famous anecdotes, comparing them with historical records and actual artifacts.

Assessment

10 exercises in this course (7 check, 0 compare, 3 written). Progress is recorded by self-assessment.

The 8 chapters of this course

What Nero began did not end with NeroLower it once and the next man starts from there. A stairway forms that only descends.
Someone tried to stop it. It did not workStop the price and, if the reason to rise remains, the trade disappears instead. Assessments differ, though.
Constantine gave a different answerNarrow what you defend and you can hold it. Yet what took seven hundred years to build fell in decades.
What was happening in the East at the same timeOpposite conditions can give the same result. Ask about the difference, not the likeness — and check the precision of the numbers.
The Man Who Claimed Double — CaracallaFace value: two denarii. Content: one and a half. The radiate crown was the crown of debasement.
The Two Percent World — The White Coins of GallienusA bronze core with silver makeup. What was destroyed was not the wealth of any single person, but the wealth of faith in the currency.
The man who tried to restore it with a mark — AurelianStamping a mark of fineness does not bring back the silver itself. A mark alone cannot restore trust.
The Man Who Tried to Fetter Prices — DiocletianThe Edict on Maximum Prices failed. Prices cannot be bound by law—a defeat from seventeen hundred years ago that is still in textbooks today.

Readings (10)

Nero's Debasement　Overview: the world　The Roman Empire　about AD 63–65
§1. Where Nero's debasement begins. Note "in time it could no longer be stopped."
An imperial mint　France　The coinage of the Roman province of Gaul　the 1st–3rd centuries
The source of the figure in §1. Figures for both the silver and the gold coins are given.
Byzantium　Overview: the world　the 11th century　The Twilight of the Nomisma
§3. The scene where a purity held for seven hundred years collapses in decades.
The monetary civilisation of the East　Overview: the world　118 BC　The Wuzhu Coin of Han
§4. The wuzhu coin of the East. Material for reading side by side with the West.
Caracalla's Watering-Down　Overview: the world　The Roman Empire　AD 215
Section 5. The device for denoting double value. The meaning of the radiate crown.
The field of Châlons and the mint of Trier　France　The coinage of the Roman province of Gaul　the later 3rd century
Section 7. "The mark alone is not enough" — The limits of restoration by edict.
The Defeat of the Price Edict　Overview: the world　The Roman Empire　AD 301
Section 8. Why a defeat from 1700 years ago is still in textbooks today.
The solidus and the end of the West　Italy　about 310　An imperial mint
Here is the answer provided by the fourth man. The empire, having failed in its attempt to control prices by law, now reformed the coinage itself. Please observe the design of striking 72 coins from one Roman pound—each weighing approximately 4.5 grams—and the decision to focus protective measures on a single gold coin.
A New Start at 20.5 Carats　Greece　1092　Mint of the Imperial Capital
This is a record of what was done after the purity had completely collapsed. Instead of returning to the former nominal 24 carats, a lower standard of 20.5 carats was openly re-established. Please observe this choice: to preserve the memory of the weight, but to recast the public's trust.
Carlos and Juana　Mexico　From 1536　Mexico City Mint
On the other side of the chain of debasement, there is a role intended to prevent it. Please note that the single letter R between the two pillars is the initial of the first assayer, Francisco del Rincón, and that he guaranteed the standard fineness of 0.9306 with his mark.

References

Online Coins of the Roman Empire (OCRE) — American Numismatic Society / Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, NYU　A catalogue of Roman Imperial Coinage. 31 BC–AD 491, over 43,000 types. The place with the most examples of types.

The books and materials referred to in this course.