The silver drains from Rome's coin; the price edict

In the 3rd-century crisis the Roman antoninianus, introduced by Caracalla at a nominal two denarii, was alloyed until little silver was left; Britannica says the coins tell their tale as clearly as Germany's paper money after 1919. In 301 Diocletian's Edict on Maximum Prices blamed profiteers, fixed maximum prices and wages on pain of death, and was largely ignored within a few years.

The mechanism

THE CLOCK

How it was checked

• EvidenceT5 INDEPENDENT SECULAR; Status: ADDED 2026-09-19
• Letter eraTHE WITNESSES AND THE TURN 44 to 312 AD
• SourcesRECORD — Britannica, 'coin' (the 3rd-century antoniniani); Wikipedia, 'Edict on Maximum Prices' (the edict's date, penalty and enforcement) · checked 19 September: Britannica (read in a browser; WebFetch is refused by the site), 'coin' (Roman coins); Lactantius, Of the Manner in Which the Persecutors Died 7, New Advent