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SolomonBlack t1_ixl7ouo wrote

Reply to comment by Svarthofde in Coins study suggests ‘fake emperor’ was real, say scientists by IslandChillin

Once Julius got it started everyone with eyes on power in the Roman world would mint coins as propaganda tools. Brutus minted coins to commentate murdering Caesar with his face on one side and daggers on the reverse. And you could do this because the coins were struck… with a hammer. Anyone with reserves of metal could do it not just the emperor at some super secure mint.

Yet while being on denarii doesn’t make you emperor it is physical evidence you existed.

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luke_in_geneq t1_ixm64sq wrote

Just curious, what would be the benefit of making coins other than propaganda? Or is there none?

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harkat82 t1_ixm6pqw wrote

For the state theres an obvious advantage, coins are a lot easier to use than raw gold so there's a benefit to the economy (assuming you can stop them being debased). So that's why emperor's did it. But for your average oligarch it's mostly just propaganda (or maybe theres a coin shortage in their region).

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The_Original_Gronkie t1_ixncebo wrote

Can you imagine Musk or Bezos minting their own coins and valuing them based on the current price if the metal? That seems like something that would get those guys off.

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TTKnumberONE t1_ixoilyt wrote

Let me introduce you to the majority of cryptocurrencies

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__Geg__ t1_ixmkd0k wrote

Coins were used to pay troops, that spent them in the territory the army traversed.

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aphilsphan t1_ixmwb8x wrote

You run into the problem of differences in silver/gold/etc content, so in addition to the difference in price between gold and silver themselves, the weights and purity of coins varied. Rome was a very sophisticated place to have a monetized economy under those circumstances. A merchant had to have a keen eye and good scales. It’s should be no real surprise that the economy in the West reverted to barter eventually. Imagine having a bag of euro and dollars and kroner today without access to a computer to know their immediate value.

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sighthoundman t1_ixnsqo6 wrote

The consensus (not always the same as the truth) is that coins were first minted as a guarantee of purity/honest weight of the precious metals. Of course the people doing this put their logo on the product.

There is some evidence that gold coins were ceasing to be currency and becoming a method of hoarding gold in the latter half of the 3rd century.

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