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| 1,800 years ago, in 215 AD. Rome was the superpower of the time, but it had been slipping for decades. In terms of money, its silver denarius had first been devalued about 150 years earlier, but the devaluations after that had been gradual. But in 215 AD, the emperor Septimus Severus reduced the silver content of the currency from 32 grains to 26. Though it was only a 19% devaluation, it brought the total decline in the value of that period's "reserve" currency to 61%. That act in 215 was a tipping point. Because due to it, India announced that it would no longer accept the denarius, and instead made it known that it only would accept pure gold. After that, with Rome no longer able to buy things with its cheapened currency, Roman living standards went into a tailspin. | |
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The Frog in the pot Economy.
