What happened when the Roman Government put less gold in its coins in the AD 200s?

Answer 1

Over many years many emperors debased the coins (decreased the content of precious metal) to help finance their expenses. This amounted to devaluation and an increase in the amount of coins in circulation. This, combined with the issuing of personalised coins by several usurpers emperors during the crisis of the 3rd century, eventually led to the coins having virtually no value and to runaway inflation.

Answer 2

There were not coins which were lost in the 200s. What happened was that in the later part of the third century there was an economic crisis in saw the collapse of the use of coins. This was because the silver coins had been successively debased by several emperors. This means that the silver content of the coins was repeatedly decreased and that the coins became devalued. This was done to issue more coins to meet mounting military expenses, increases in the pay of soldiers and fund the cost of wars to defend the empire from repeated invasions during this century. The antoninianus came to have only a 2.7% silver content in the late 260s and the denarius ceased to be minted in 250. From 253 AD the gold coin, the aureus, also started to be debased and also became worthless.

The Roman coins came to have no worth and this also, eventually, led to runaway inflation. This in turn led to a collapse in trade, the abandonment of the use of coins and barter exchanges. The coins which were not used were hoarded, used as jewellery or melted. The coins which were hoarded were the ones which had been minted earlier and, therefore, had a higher precious metal content than later ones and a higher value.

Answer 3

Since they less gold in to coins they were worth less then they were before