In 211BC the silver denarius became the dominant monetary unit of the Roman Republic. In 211BC the denarius had a silver content of 4.5g with 95% fineness. By the time the it had finished its decline the silver content of the denarius was a mere 2%. The silver content of a Roman denarius depends on […]
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Key Takeaways The silver shekel is the most ancient form of precious metal money in recorded history. Its origins lie in Ancient Sumer where it was a reserve currency and a standard pricing measure. The silver shekel is also mentioned in the Book of Genesis as a measure of weight. So on both accounts it’s
If you have ever held a Roman denarius in your hand, you’ve touched a significant piece of the monetary history of silver. The silver denarius is the coin that once powered what is arguably the world’s greatest empires and is one of the most famous silver coins in history. But how much is a Roman denarius
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Bimetallism is a monetary system where both gold and silver are money, and the critical thing is the ratio between the two. Before we had the fiat standard, we had the gold standard. And before we had the gold standard, we had bimetallism. It is an ancient monetary system that continued until relatively recently. It
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You can invest in copper through physical bullion, mining stocks, ETFs or futures. By doing so, you will be engaging in an ancient human activity. Copper was one of the first metals that humans ever extracted from the earth. Copper, and copper mining, goes back to near the dawn of civilization. The archaeological record dates
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The commodity theory of money is the view that money emerged from barter and that physical commodities that were well suited as a store of value and a medium of exchange came to function as money. This theory is asserted by the Austrian School of economics. The founder Carl B. Menger stated: “[Money] is not
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The origins of money are murkier than many would have you believe and the oldest form of money is not entirely clear. The standard story is that we moved in a gradual process from barter to using commodity money such as cows, shells and ultimately metal coins. But that is not universally accepted. David Orrell,
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Key Takeaways The Roman denarius was the most important coin of its time and one of the most famous silver coins in history. Its extensive circulation across the vast reaches of the Roman Empire demonstrates the success of silver as a monetary medium. According to numismatic history legend Kenneth Harl in his outstanding book Coinage
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The term “sound money” refers to a type of money which acts as a reliable store of value over time where it is difficult to dilute the supply and therefore the value with new units. The soundness of money depends on how well it retains its value and how difficult it is to increase the
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