History/Medieval Studies 303

Syllabus 

Readings: 
 Book List  
 Iconoclasm 
 Discussion Topics 

Chronologies: 
 Imperial Crisis 
 Later Roman Emperors, 306-395 
 Fall of Western Empire 
 Age of Justinian 
 Islamic Caliphs 
 Byzantine Dark Age 
 Triumph of Christianity 
 Macedonian Resurgence 
 Crusades 
 Restoration and Ottoman Advance v

Handouts: 
 Population 
 Finances under Justinian 
 Byzantium c.850A.D. 
  
Currency charts: 
   Diocletian and Constantine 
   Justinian and Heraclius 
   Isaurian, Amorian, and Macedonian Ages 
   Comnenian and Palaeogian Ages
  
Links 

Diocletian fixed the standard of the AUREUS, the principal gold coin, at 60 to the Roman pound (5.34 grs.) struck from almost pure gold (99-99.5% fine).  An equally pure silver ARGENTEUS was struck at 96 to the pound and exchanged at 24 to the aureus so that each argenteus represented a CARAT (siliqua) or the equivalent weight of 1/24 of the aureus.  The principal coin for daily transactions was a silver-clad NUMMUS, struck at 32 to the pound (11.00 grs.) and coated with silver wash so that it was 5% fine.  The nummus was tariffed at 5 d.c. in 293, but inflation forced Diocletian to revalue his currency twice, in 300 and again in 301, so that imperial currency was officially tariffed in in 293-307 as follows: 

OFFICIAL VALUES OF IMPERIAL MONEY, 293-307 A.D. 
 

		Exchange Value
Denomination	293-300	300-301	301-307
Gold Aureus	600 d.c.	1,200.0 d.c.	2,400 d.c.
Silver Argenteus	25 d.c.	50.0 d.c.	100 d.c
Billon Nummus	5 d.c.	12.5 d.c.	25 d.c.
Billon Radiate	2 d.c.	2.5 d.c.	5 d.c.
Bronze Laureate	1 d.c.	1.0 d.c.	1 d.c.

 
Within eight years official values of imperial money were inflated by five times, but prices and wages cited in units of account or "ghost currencies" of d.c. are deceptive, because the number of nummi officially exchanged to the aureus declined from 120 nummi in 293 to only 96 nummi in 300-301. 

Civil wars in 306-324 ruined Diocletian's currency.  In 309 Constantine reduced the weight of the AUREUS, henceforth called the SOLIDUS (slang for "solid bit") struck at 72 to the Roman pound (4.48 grs.), the standard down to the eleventh century.  Silver coins, minted as fractions of the pound, were issued as ceremonial gifts and so disappeared from general use.  The NUMMUS was drastically reduced in weight and fineness, falling to a coin of 3.00 grs. and 2% fine by 313 and exchanged at 240 NUMMI to the Constantinian SOLIDUS, representing an inflation of 200% over the official rate of exchange in 307.  In the East, 288 NUMMI were exchanged against the AUREUS, but the rate was doubled to 576 NUMMI by the reform of Licinius in 321. 
 
DEBASEMENT OF NUMMUS, 305-348 

			Average	Silver	Official
Date		Module	Weight	Content	Value
305-307		AE1	10.75 grs.	4.00%	25 d.c.
Apr. 307		AE2	8.00 grs.	4.00%	25 d.c.
Nov. 307		AE2	6.70 grs.	4.00%	25 d.c.
310-313		AE2	4.50 grs.	1.50%	25 d.c.
313-318		AE3	3.36 grs.	1.40%	25 d.c.
318-324		AE3	3.00 grs.	2.0-4.0%	25 d.c.
321-324*		AE3	2.40 grs.	0.10%	12.5 d.c.
324-330		AE3	3.05 grs.	1.90%	25 d.c.
330-335		AE3	2.48 grs.	1.00%	25 d.c.
336-337		AE4	1.61 grs.	1.30%	25 d.c.
337-341		AE4	1.64 grs.	1.10%	25 d.c.
341-348		AE4	1.65 grs.	0.40%	25 d.c.

 
*Eastern nummi of Licinius 
Module is classified by descending order of diameter of the nummus so that AE1 = 32-26 mm.; AE2 = 25-21 mm.; AE3 = 20-17 mm.; and AE4 = below 17 mm. 

Subsequent efforts to revive a billon currency based on multiples of the nummus, in 348-354 and 362-367, failed.  In 371 Valentinian I and Valens demonetized and recoined all billon cons (aes diochonetum or "alloyed bronze") into token bronze coins and pure silver fractions of the solidus. 

In 320, Constantine resumed minting pure silver coins on the Tetrarchic standard, based on an ARGENTEUS struck at 96 to the Roman pound (3.36 grs.) and tariffed at 1 carat (siliqua) of the gold SOLIDUS.  The official exchange was 1 gold solidus = silver 24 argentei = 288 billon nummi.  Multiple denominations were minted as ceremonial gifts to officials and soldiers: 
 
CONSTANTINIAN SILVER COINS, 320-355 

WAGES.  Military archives from Panopolis in Upper Egypt in 299-300 reveal that a legionary received an annual salary of 1,800 d.c. (= 144 nummi), an allotment of 600 d.c. (= 48 nummi) for grain purchases (annona) and 30 modii (62.5% of his annual needs), and four annual donatives of 2,500 d.c. each (= 200 nummi) for a total payment of 12,400 d.c.  The money was paid as 992 silver-clad nummi at the exchange rate of 12.5 d.c. per nummus.  In 293 base pay of the legionary was probably reckoned at 1 nummus per day for an annual pay of 360 nummi.  The price of wheat was perhaps officially 1 nummus per modius castrensis (= 1.5 modius) so that a soldier's annual minimum of 32 modii castrenses cost 32 nummi or 9% of his annual pay of 360 nummi. Wages in the Price Edict suggests that in 293 a laborer received 1 nummus per day whereas skilled craftsmen received daily wages ranging between 3 and 6 nummi.

PRICES.  Inflation in 293-301 cut the buying power of the nummus and drove up prices of all commodities.  The scourge of inflation is best seen by converting official grain prices of the Price Edict cited in d.c. into actual coins according to exchange rates in 300-301 (at 12.5 d.c per nummus) and in the Monetary Edict of September 1, 301 (at 25 d.c. per nummus):

Official Grain Prices, 300-305 A.D.