The Money Project aims to use intuitive visualizations to explore ideas around the very concept of money itself. Plague was rampant.Īnd so the Western Roman Empire would cease to exist by 476 A.D. Trade networks were disintegrated and such activities became too dangerous.īarbarian invasions came in from every direction.

The empire was in a free-for-all, and it split into three separate states.Ĭonstant civil wars meant the Empire’s borders were vulnerable. Most of these were murdered, assassinated, or killed in battle. The Collapseĭuring the crisis of the 3rd century (235-284 A.D), there may have been more than 50 emperors. Hyperinflation, soaring taxes, and worthless money created a trifecta that dissolved much of Rome’s trade.īy the end of the 3rd century, any trade that was left was mostly local, using inefficient barter methods instead of any meaningful medium of exchange. With soaring logistical and admin costs and no precious metals left to plunder from enemies, the Romans levied more and more taxes against the people to sustain the Empire. Only barbarian mercenaries were to be paid in gold. “Nobody should have any money but I, so that I may bestow it upon the soldiers.” – Caracalla, who raised soldiers pay by 50% near 210 AD.īy 265 AD, when there was only 0.5% silver left in a denarius, prices skyrocketed 1,000% across the Roman Empire. For example, soldiers demanded far higher wages as the quality of coins diminished. The real effects of debasement took time to materialize.Īdding more coins of poorer quality into circulation did not help increase prosperity – it just transferred wealth away from the people, and it meant that more coins were needed to pay for goods and services.Īt times, there was runaway inflation in the empire. The shine quickly wore off to reveal the poor quality underneath. Each coin was a bronze core with a thin coating of silver. By the time of Gallienus, the coins had barely 5% silver. However, it had only the weight of 1.5 denarii. He introduced the “double denarius”, which was worth 2x the denarius in face value. Caracalla tried a different method of debasement. And so, the content of silver dropped over the years.īy the time of Marcus Aurelius, the denarius was only about 75% silver. With more coins in circulation, the government could spend more. By decreasing the purity of their coinage, they were able to make more “silver” coins with the same face value. Roman officials found a way to work around this. How was the newest war, thermae, palace, or circus to be paid for? This made financing the pet-projects of emperors challenging. However, with a finite supply of silver and gold entering the empire, Roman spending was limited by the amount of denarii that could be minted. During the first days of the Empire, these coins were of high purity, holding about 4.5 grams of pure silver. This coin, between the size of a modern nickel and dime, was worth approximately a day’s wages for a skilled laborer or craftsman. The major silver coin used during the first 220 years of the empire was the denarius. However, the city of Rome itself had only 1 million people, and costs kept rising as the empire became larger.Īdministrative, logistical, and military costs kept adding up, and the Empire found creative new ways to pay for things.Īlong with other factors, this led to hyperinflation, a fractured economy, localization of trade, heavy taxes, and a financial crisis that crippled Rome. Trade generated vast wealth for the citizens of Rome. It was trade that allowed a wide variety of goods to be imported into its borders: beef, grains, glassware, iron, lead, leather, marble, olive oil, perfumes, purple dye, silk, silver, spices, timber, tin and wine. How could such a powerful empire collapse? The Roman Economy Even concepts of Roman justice still stand tall, such as being “innocent until proven guilty”. Our alphabet, calendar, languages, literature, and architecture borrow much from the Romans. The Empire built 50,000 miles of roads, as well as many aqueducts, amphitheatres, and other works that are still in use today. Rome had conquered much of the known world.

The Money Project is an ongoing collaboration between Visual Capitalist and Texas Precious Metals that seeks to use intuitive visualizations to explore the origins, nature, and use of money.Īt its peak, the Roman Empire held up to 130 million people over a span of 1.5 million square miles. Currency and the Collapse of the Roman Empire

Denarius value today