Concerned Roman Hoarded Gold To Protect Against Hyperinflation at the Outer Reaches of Roman Empire
Gold Bugs get some reassurance from the past that hoarding precious metals is the only way to protect against the eroding effects of hyperinflation on wealth. The BBC is reporting a “nationally significant” hoard of Roman gold coins has been found by a metal detectorist in Hertfordshire, UK. Chances are, judging on the sporadic nature of his bury, this gold bug from the 4th century, was totally freaking out about currency devaluation and government taxation. It is likely that he didn’t have very many friends, as his monetary doom-talk probably turned his friends and family off, as they desired to believe – however falsely – the Roman Empire would last forever. This gold bug from antiquity, whose stash was found on private land north of Saint Albans managed to acquire the largest know Roman gold coin accumulation in UK history. He must’ve been freaking out. Since he never recovered his gold, SV suspects that he was executed for his wild conspiracy theories by the praetorian class of the Roman Empire. Or, perhaps this is the stash of an individual who lived far away, who wished to get his stash far away from the Roman epicenter. An ancient “Get Your Gold Out of Dodge” attempt. The 159 coins are from the late 4th century Roman Empire during a time of severe inflationary pressure brought on by the roman government’s attempt to pay for their expansive and crumbling empire through devaluing of their currency. Sound money advocates of today often site the collapse of the Roman Empire, brought on by a devalued denarius, as clear reason to hoard precious metals to preserve wealth. Reflection of whoever hoarded this collection of Roman gold, the present day value has yet to be assessed, may find it a bit comical to contemplate whomever it was that acquired the massive cache of gold.
Was he the modern equivalent of sound monetarist, seeing the writing on the wall of the impending destruction of the empire? Was he looked on as a nut for imploring that his neighbors protect themselves by hoarding physical gold? David Thorold, the curator of the Saint Albans museum stated, “Typically, the wealthy Roman elite, merchants, or soldiers receiving bulk pay were the recipients.” Interesting enough as today the same demographic groups are the likely hoarders of precious metals, parallels to the inflationary collapse of now are all too evident. Unfortunately, the 1996 Treasure Act legally obliges finders of historic metal objects to report their discovery to the local coroner who determines whether or not it constitutes treasure meaning the finder of this treasure will undoubtedly have this wealth stolen from the state. Ironically, this must’ve been a threat that the burier of the metals was all to aware of in the first place… Reprinted with permission from the Silver Vigilante. October 26, 2012 Copyright © 2012 Silver Vigilante
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