Roman Financial Crisis Evident in Differences of Ancient Coins Issued in 44 BCE

Historians report that an ancient Roman financial crisis rocked Rome, just like what happens in modern times. Despite the arguments and debates about how it happened in 44 BCE (before the common era) when fluctuations happened. Hard evidence, according to scholars, is the coins that were minted during these historic times.

Ancient Roman Coins

Scholars claim that Roman statesman and philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero mentioned that coins with fluctuating value were mentioned in 44BCE, reported Science Alert.

It took centuries to settle the historical puzzle seen in the coins. According to the archeologist Kevin Butcher from Warwick University, historians had long disagreed on what the statesman and scholar meant when he said, "the coinage was being flung around so that no one could know what he had, cited Warwick.

In 91 BCE, the Roman state was on the verge of bankruptcy due to the Social War against their Italian allies, noted DOI.

They wanted to vote in the elections of Rome in 89 BCE, but there was a crisis and what Cicero wrote is the currency was not fully supported and the denarius as well.

According to Butcher, Cicero described how the Roman tribunes approached the college of praetors to remedy the dispute before Gratidianus claimed sole credit for the collective effort.

Financial Crisis in Ancient Rome

The Gratidianus has fixed the exchange rate between silver and bronze denarius. Another is that he provided a system for detecting fraudulent denarii, regaining trust in the currency after the ancient Roman financial crisis.

Although the account of Cicero was not very clear and hard to understand, one idea about what he wrote was to report what a Roman magistrate did to take advantage of others' efforts.

They studied the composition of the coins issued during these years as part of a larger investigation.

The coins were produced using invasive sampling methods to avoid destroying the priceless silver treasures that bear the heads of gods and Roman kings.

It was first used as coinage in 211 BCE, and it was worth ten bronze assēs coins. Before 90 BCE, experts believed the denarius was made entirely of silver, but that percentage dropped by 10% only five years later.

Archeologist Matthew Ponting from Liverpool University added that a drop in the denarius dropped its value to 86 percent, which indicates a financial crisis.

The devaluation of the currency coincides with other evidence of financial conflicts, such as the state's unusual measure of selling public land to purchase grain in 89 BCE.

Fighting an Ancient Monetary Crisis

In 90 BCE, coin manufacturing increased dramatically, with 2,372 dies the molds used to create the coins compared to 677 the year before and 841 the year after.

This was most likely due to Rome's financial difficulties during the Social War.

When Pompey and Julius Caesar fought a civil war, the coin was revalued, and Rome looked to more conquests and taxation to keep its finances afloat.

However, this debasement was not as severe as that experienced by coins struck in 87 BCE.

Butcher remarked that Cicero's said the devaluation was done because the currency denarii might be fake; the Gratidianus edict allowed the restoration of Roman money.

This ancient Roman financial crisis was resolved but caused arguments settled by Roman coinage from archaic Rome.