Murphy, Nathan (2022) Reform, recognition and reaction : charting responses to silver coinage reforms through hoarding patterns, 1st-3rd century AD. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

Gresham’s Law, the oft-quoted aphorism that ‘bad money drives out good’, is a theoretical lens through which coinage reforms and their effects are usually interpreted. However, as the wealth of evidence available to us continues to increase, it is becoming clear that this can no longer be stated with certainty. The extent to which the public was aware of and reacted to coinage reforms is a continuing point of contention, as is the impact of these responses on monetary policy and the wider economy.
My research aims to begin to fill this deficiency in modern scholarship through a large-scale examination of silver coin hoarding patterns from across the Roman Empire, alongside select studies of hoards from beyond the frontiers. This study is being carried out in conjunction with new analyses of the composition of Roman silver coinage, currently being undertaken by Professor Kevin Butcher and Dr Matthew Ponting. By examining changes to the way people hoarded coins, we can begin to investigate the extent of public knowledge of reform and the nature of any ensuing reaction. This in turn can help to shed new light on a variety of subjects, from the nature of hoarding and Roman conceptions of value to the role of coinage reforms in precipitating the so-called ‘Crisis of the Third Century.’
The reforms of Nero, Domitian and the Severan emperors are examined in detail through an analysis of coin hoards and their contents, before the similarities and differences between each series of events are discussed. A repeating pattern of debasement, popular reaction, renewal and recall is identified, suggesting commonalities between coinage reforms across a two-hundred-year time span. This in turn demonstrates the value of carefully considered large scale coin hoard studies to students of the Roman world.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	C Auxiliary Sciences of History > CJ Numismatics
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Silver coins, Coins, Roman -- History, Coinage -- Rome -- History, Numismatics, Roman
Official Date:	March 2022
Dates:	Date Event March 2022 UNSPECIFIED
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of Classics and Ancient History
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Butcher, Kevin
Format of File:	pdf
Extent:	262 leaves : charts
Language:	eng

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