How Inflation Ruined the Roman Economy

In the third century, the Roman emperors reduced the gold and silver content of their coins, inadvertently starting a cycle of inflation and debasement. The first 1,000 people to use this link will get a 1 month free trial of Skillshare: https://skl.sh/toldinstone01221 I’d like to thank Classical Numismatics for their contributions to this video. For much more on ancient Greek and Roman coins, check out their channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/ClassicalNumismatics/videos Please consider supporting toldinstone on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/toldinstone If you liked this video, you might also enjoy my book “Naked Statues, Fat Gladiators, and War Elephants: Frequently Asked Questions about the Ancient Greeks and Romans.” https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Statues-Fat-Gladiators-Elephants/dp/1633887022 If you're so inclined, you can follow me elsewhere on the web: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/wiki/profiles/toldinstone https://www.instagram.com/toldinstone/ https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20993845.Garrett_Ryan Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 1:03 The revenues of the Roman emperors 1:32 The imperial budget 3:00 The currency and its stability 4:25 Skillshare 5:18 The Crisis and its consequences 7:04 Debasing the currency 10:35 Inflation in the second century 11:11 Hyperinflation in the third century 11:51 Ending the crisis 12:25 The reforms of Aurelian and Diocletian 13:15 Conclusion Thanks for watching!