The Romans Didn't Really Understand the Root of the Problem

To the romans currency was a stable element. A coin was worth exactly what it was worth, whether there were 500 in circulation or five million. So they just failed to grasp that the sheer tonnage of coins out in the market place was affecting the purchasing power of all those coins. And here was diocletian issuing even more coins, better coins, yes, but still more. This is where the emperor and his advisers made their biggest mistake. They did not call back in nearly enough of the coins. Some cycled some out of circulation. But if he really wanted the currency put back on sound footingdiocletian needed to put the recall of all the bad coins