Prices are going up and value for money going down. In this inflation-hit era, some Londoners have taken it upon themselves to try and solve the shortage of loose change by minting their own.
Is this leading to financial chaos or are they trying to fill the financial void? Londinium Lite went to find out.
Tutulus, a local tool-maker is dubious about the official coinage…
The criminals! I’ve been checking my small change. How can I tell if my money is real? The coins all look the same to me, so how did they do it?
Oh, they used moulds - but that’s not how they’re normally made, is it? I thought they normally stamped blanks to make coins. If they’ve been running this scam for some time, I wonder just how much of our loose change is fake?
Marciana, a young girl living locally is excited about hiding the evidence…
Ooh, is it true they hid the evidence in the city ditch? How exciting!
They probably thought that it wouldn’t be discovered there – they could have lain there for centuries before anyone found them.
Plautius Nobilianus, local banker hopes they pay the price…
We’ve had terrible problems with a lack a of small change in the town. It’s not just Londinium – it’s due to problems in the Empire. Prices have gone up a lot and silver denarii are in short supply.
Have you noticed how the government are cutting the amount of silver in each coin? By issuing these silver antoniniani, they think that we won’t notice. Well, I wouldn’t give you half a denarii for one of those new coins, let alone two. I keep my savings in gold – it’s much safer that way.
I hope that the military police catch up with the forgers – it’s a capital offence. Might be some good entertainment in the arena if they catch up with them.
No name given
Psst! I can let you have some silver denarii – going cheap, excess to requirements!
