Roman Coins

[Mithradates]

What im interested in is the life span of Roman coins. For instance i was part of an archaeological dig which found a silver denarius in the north of England. This coin was minted in the reign of Nero. Would this coin have been in Roman currency much later for instance after the Romans had occupied most of England. Or would it have been a remnant of trade taking place before the Romans. What im saying is how long were they used for did people keep old coins with old emperors on them long after they were dead? Or were there re-issues and replacements? Any interesting information regarding Roman coins and the like as well would be appreciated as well.

[TinCow]

My understanding is that old currency remained valuable for its entire existence, because the coins themselves were always made from precious metals. The concept of a currency becoming worthless is a more recent phenomenon which began when the currency itself was made from a non-valuable material. Gold is gold is gold. It didn't matter whose face was on it, only how much it weighed and how pure it was.

[YellowMelon]

Ya as TinCow said, it was more about what it was made of that what it represented. Not to say that currency values didn't fluctuate.