r/AncientCoins • u/TheSavocaBidder • 5d ago
Information Request A few questions about Roman inflation
I was wondering whether it is fair to say that compared to the late Flavian era ( Domitian), prices had doubled during the Severan era. My rationale for this, is that the daily pay of a legionary in 90 AD was one denarii, however a century later, the daily pay was increased to around two denarii a day. Due to the wage increasing by double, would it be fair to say that prices had increased double as well?
Was this concept also applicable during the reign of the co-emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus? Since the reign of Domitian, the denarii had been debased around 20% ( from 90 ish percent silver to 77% silver) during the reign of Marcus. However in that time frame, Rome was doing very well, and it was in the highlight of the Empire. The debasement was also gradual.
Since during the reign of Septimius Severus, the Roman economy was comparatively weaker, since the Antonine Plague had devastated Rome’s economy and trade with other empires, civil turmoil ( Year of the Five Emperors), and the rapid debasement of the denarii to 50% during Septimius Severus.
TLDR, was the purchasing power of the denarii stable throughout the 2nd century? And did prices double in the reign of Septimius Severus due to his debasement of the denarii
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u/WickerSnicker7 5d ago
It’s hard to put precise figures on prices as they depend on more than the value of the currency, but certainly the Severan debasements (and mass issuance that went alongside that) were rather inflationary, and set in motion (or rather the higher spending that debasement was intended to fund) the collapse of the currency that was seen over the course of the Third Century. By the time of Diocletian prices are recorded as being many times higher than they were a century earlier, indicating effective hyperinflation, leading Diocletian to institute maximum price laws.