Romans Suffered From Financial Crisis During 86-91 BC, Analysis Of Ancient Coins Reveals

The research, conducted by researchers at the University of Warwick and the University of Liverpool in England, revealed a debasement of the currency far greater than historians had thought.

The 'heads' of a contemporary coin sampled as part of the project | Credit: University of Warwick

New Delhi: Researchers recently performed a scientific analysis of the composition of Roman denarii, which were small silver coins of ancient Rome. This has brought fresh understanding to a financial crisis briefly mentioned by the Roman statesman and writer Marcus Tullius in his essay on moral leadership, De Officiis. The new findings have solved a long-standing historical debate. 

Debasement Of Currency Far Greater Than What Historians Had Thought

The research, conducted by researchers at the University of Warwick and the University of Liverpool in England, revealed a debasement of the currency far greater than historians had thought. Debasement refers to lowering the value of a currency, and is primarily associated with coins made from precious metals, such as gold and silver. When the coins are made with a mix of precious metals and base metals as opposed to purely precious metals, the currency is said to be debased. 

Pure Silver Coins Cut With Up To 10% Copper Before 90 BC

Coins that had been pure silver before 90 BC were cut with up to 10 per cent copper five years later, a statement issued by University of Warwick said.

Dr Ponting at the University of Liverpool said that the Romans had been used to extremely fine silver coinage, so they may well have lost confidence in the denarius when it ceased to be pure, according to the statement. 

He explained that the precise level of debasement might have been less important to contemporaries than the mere realisation that the coin was adulterated and no longer made of true 'silver'. 

Professor Butcher at the University of Warwick said that the discovery of this significant decrease in the value of the denarius has shed new light on Cicero's hints of a currency crisis in 86 BC.

The statesman and scholar had written that "the coinage was being tossed around, so that no one was able to know what he had." Professor Butcher explained that historians have long debated what the scholar wrote, and they believe they have now solved this puzzle.

What Does 'Coinage Being Tossed About' Mean?

A five-year research project funded by the European Research Council aims to increase the understanding of economies of classical Rome and other Mediterranean states by analysing the composition of their coins. Dr Ponting, one of the researchers involved in this project, said that their sampling technique used to take samples from important coins has revealed a significant decline in the value of the denarius. 

The denarius was initially a pure silver coin. Then, its value dropped to under 95 per cent fine, and subsequently to 90 per cent. Some coins fell as low as 86 per cent, suggesting a severe currency crisis, Dr Ponting said.

Professor Butcher explained that in the years after 91 BC, the Roman state was in danger of becoming bankrupt. He added that the Romans were at war with their own allies in Italy, and by the conclusion of the war, in 89 BC, there was a debt crisis.

Professor Butcher further said that by 86 BC, there appears to have been a crisis of confidence in the currency too. 

In order to resolve the crisis, the Roman tribunes approached the college of praetors. Tribune was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome, the two most important titles being the tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. 

Praetors, in ancient Rome, were judicial officers who had broad authority in cases of equity, and who were responsible for the production of the public games. In the absence of consuls, they exercised extensive authority in the government. 

The tribunes and the college of praetors had jointly worked out a proposal for currency reform, but a person named Marius Gratidianus had taken credit for it, the statement said.

Professor Butcher said one theory is that Gratidianus fixed the exchange rate between the silver denarius and the bronze as, which has only recently been reduced in weight. 

The professor explained that another theory is that Gratidianus published a method for detecting fake denarii, which restored faith in the coinage.

The financial difficulties faced by Rome in these years led to a relaxation of standards at the mint in 90 BC, the results of the metallurgical analysis suggest. The consequence was that the silver content of the coinage declined in two stages, and by 87 BC, the coinage was deliberately alloyed with five to 10 per cent copper, the statement said.

Professor Butcher added that this could be the meaning of Cicero's words. Since nobody could be certain whether the denarii they had were pure or not, Cicero said that the value of the coinage was 'tossed about', Professor Butcher explained.

The Romans avoided debasing the denarius again in the decades that followed. This was until the state once again faced huge expenses during the civil war between Pompey and Julius Caesar.