One historian has given the following description of the economy of the Roman Empire in the third century under the emperor Diocletian:
The coinage had become so debased as to be virtually worthless. Diocletian’s attempt to reissue good gold and silver coins failed because there simply was not enough gold and silver available to restore confidence in the currency…. Diocletian finally accepted the ruin of the money economy and revised the tax system so that it was based on payments in kind. The soldiers too came to be paid in kind.
a. What does it mean to describe coinage as having become debased?
b. Why would government officials need to restore confidence in the coins before people would use them as money?
c. What are “in-kind” payments? How might moving from a system of payments being made in gold and silver coins to a system of payments being made in kind affect the economy of the empire?