Inflation and Commodity-Based Coinages in the Later Roman Empire

The third century AD marked an era of transition for the Roman Empire. The continuous debasement of coinage caused a high inflation as prices of commodities were adjusted to fit the new value of the minted currency. It was a period in which trust in the government’s monetary authority dropped. By the end of this century, the quality of the last issue of Alexandrian coinage under the old system had deteriorated to such an extent that the last tetradrachms produced were heavily reduced in weight (c. 7–8g) and diameter (c.18mm) and contained virtually no silver.

The later 3^rd and early 4^th century CE witnessed a period of deep transformation of the Roman monetary system. Traditionally, Rome had operated a tri- or even quadri-metalllic coinage system: gold for the higher denominations, silver for smaller transactions, and finally brass, bronze and copper for base coinage.

Although Late Antique monetary systems have been widely studied, scholarly attention has been concentrated mostly on the monetary reforms, such as Diocletian’s and Anastatius’, and much less on the functions and relevance of currency in daily life in the different regions of the Late Roman Empire.

Debasement and Inflation in the western Empire during the third century CE