Coin Quality, Coin Quantity, and Coin Value in Early China and the Roman World

Scheidel, Walter

doi:10.2139/ssrn.1442585

Cited by 6 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…The search for arbitrage in the imperial era of debasement and revaluation that commences with Nero and continues to the Severan dynasty and beyond dovetails with the modern debate over metallism versus ‘nominalism’ (Scheidel 2010) or ‘chartalism’ (Katsari 2011). 23 The transition from the ‘metallism’ of Roman coinage that roughly reflected bullion content to the ‘nominalism’ of a debased coinage that did not speaks to historical context.…”

Section: VIImentioning

confidence: 99%

“…23 The transition from the ‘metallism’ of Roman coinage that roughly reflected bullion content to the ‘nominalism’ of a debased coinage that did not speaks to historical context. The ‘socially 'caged' Roman coin users of this debasement period ‘lacked attractive alternatives to state-issued currency’ for day-to-day transactions, the payment of taxes and so on (Schiedel 2010, p. 95). Absent ‘more fragmented currency systems where diverse issues were free to compete on intrinsic quality’, a debased coinage still retained advantages compared to barter or use of hacksilber .…”

Section: VIImentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Comparisons of Greek city-states with the Roman empire are complicated as the latter had an extended reach and used one standard unit of account eliminating the possibility of arbitrage arising from overvalued local coinage (e.g. Scheidel 2010). Over time, the connection between bullion content and the monetary value of Roman coinage became distorted by debasements and revaluations undermining the type of arbitrage that, possibly, was executed in Greek city-states where coinage was closely aligned with bullion content.…”

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Origins of arbitrage

Poitras

2021

Financial History Review

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Following a review of the etymology and modern usage of the term ‘arbitrage’, this article explores the relevance of historical context to possible instances of ancient arbitrage activity. Types of possible ‘arbitrage’ associated with the use of overvalued coinage in regions of Greek influence are considered. Comparison with Roman civilization reveals the relevance of social attitudes and legal institutions to the ability to execute arbitrage trades. Specific attention is given to the possibility of arbitrage across the Roman frontier to India and the impact of debasements during the imperial period. Recognizing that sources prior to early modern times are scant, numismatic, epigraphic and literary evidence that is available to make inferences about ancient arbitrage activity is assessed.

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Section: VIImentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: VIImentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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Origins of arbitrage

Poitras

2021

Financial History Review

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“…Written language has been proven to emerge, with varying mutual influence, at different points in time across the globe (Daniels & Bright 1996); numerical systems equally have been shown to evolve in different civilizations (Ifrah 2000). And it has been argued that coinage was invented twice, independently, in the Greco‐Lydian Aegean and in the Great Plain of China (Scheidel 2010). In similar fashion, land allotment boundaries could have been triggered by historical junctures whose emerging conditions are comparable.…”

Section: Logic #1: ‘Some Trajectories Catch On While Others Do Not …’mentioning

confidence: 99%

The logics of enclosure: deep‐time trajectories in the spread of land tenure boundaries in late prehistoric northern Europe

Løvschal

2020

Royal Anthropological Inst

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Invasive schemes involving the erection of land tenure boundaries are currently spreading quickly across vast areas throughout the globe, turning former unfenced forests and grasslands into closed‐off parcels. These processes pose intriguing questions about the deep history of colonizing assemblages consisting of particular tenure practices, temporalities, and technologies, as well as their potential long‐term repercussions. This article expands the temporal horizon applied to human‐nonhuman configurations, endeavouring to focus beyond the ethnographic present or the event on trajectories as a particular spatial and temporal logic of fencing and the virtuality that ensues. It explores the earliest large‐scale spread of land tenure boundaries across northern Europe, a process which occurred between the seventeenth and fifth centuries BCE, several millennia after Neolithization. Significant ebbs and flows in this process demonstrate how fencing exerts pressure on the future, a conspiring of forces and potentialities regarding what may or may not turn into long‐term paths towards ever‐increasing or enduring boundaries. By applying a 2,000‐year timespan to the study of material ontologies, this article explores new interfaces between archaeology and new materialism which reveal the presence of formative yet dynamic processes and quasi‐paths.

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“…2008. 3 The only exception so far concerns monetary history : Scheidel 2008b: Scheidel , 2009c: Scheidel , 2010 For the uses and different types of historical comparison, see Scheidel 2009aScheidel , 2013, and the literature referenced there. 5 See now Monson and Scheidel (eds.)…”

Section: The Status and Sources Of Slavesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Slavery and Forced Labor in Early China and the Roman World

Scheidel¹

2013

SSRN Journal

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The use of coerced labor in the form of chattel slavery in the private sector has long been regarded as one of the defining characteristics of some of the best-known economies of the ancient Mediterranean. It may even have been critical in producing the surplus that sustained the ruling class. In early China, by contrast, forced labor (often by convicts) appears to have been concentrated in the public sector. This paper is a first attempt to study these systems comparatively in order to investigate whether these differences were genuine and significant, and whether they can be related to observed outcomes in terms of economic and socio-political development.

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Coin Quality, Coin Quantity, and Coin Value in Early China and the Roman World

Cited by 6 publications

References 32 publications

Origins of arbitrage

Origins of arbitrage

The logics of enclosure: deep‐time trajectories in the spread of land tenure boundaries in late prehistoric northern Europe

Slavery and Forced Labor in Early China and the Roman World

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