Rome, the Greek World, and the East, Vol. 2 - Government, Society, and Culture in the Roman Empire

Cash Distributions in Rome 97

But,ifthisfigureof1millionaureiperyearhasanyvalidity,itisalsovery
revealingasregardscongiaria,towhichwewillreturnlater.
ItisatanyratecertainthatthemintofRomeproducedconsiderablequan-
titiesofcoiningold,silver,andbasemetals.Butthequestionofwhatwas
mintedremainsentirelyobscure.Inordertostrikenewcoins,didtheyre-
mintexistingcoins,deliveredtoRomeastaxation?Orwasitnormaltouse
ingotsderivedmoreorlessdirectlyfrommining?Orstocksofmetalprevi-
ouslystoredupinRome?Orperhapsevenornaments,goldorsilverstatues,
and decorative objects of that sort?^25 All this possibilities are discussed in
a paper by C. J. Howgego,^26 who contests, not without justification,vari-
ous conclusions arrived at in a now classic paper by Michael Crawford.^27
Howgego’s principal purpose is to dispute Crawford’s theory that ancient
states struck coins solely in order to be able to make their own necessary
payments.Initself,thistheoryiscertainlytooinflexible.But,beyondthat,
itrestsonapresuppositionwhichisbynomeansbeyondquestion:thatis
tosaythat,inordertomakepayments,anancientstateneedednormallyto
strikenewcoins.But,forexample,theideathateverypaymentmadetoeach
ofthe300,000to400,000soldiersintheRomanarmy^28 willnormallyhave
beencarriedoutinnewcoinissurelyabsurd,presupposingasitdoesanin-
conceivably vast scale of minting. On this basis, the imperial mints would
havehadtomint,orre-mint,perhapssome105milliondenariieachyearin
thesecondcentury.^29 Butitisgenerallyknownthatintheimperialperiod
the coins in circulation included some minted even as much as a century
earlier.Thereis,inotherwords,noneedtosupposethat,whensoldierswere
paid,theyreceivedonlynewlymintedcoins.
Onecouldhoweverposethequestionofdonativa(largesses)inthiscon-
text.Itissurelypossiblethatadonativum,beinginprincipleapersonalgift
from the emperor to the individual soldier, was regularly paid in newly

25. Forsomeexamplesofthemeltingdownandmintingoftreasuresorstocksoforna-
    ments,seeF.Millar,The Emperor in the Roman World(1977;2nded.,1992),144–47.


26. C.J.Howgego,‘‘WhyDidAncientStatesStrikeCoins?,’’Numis. Chron.150(1990):
    1–25.


27. M.Crawford,‘‘MoneyandExchangeintheRomanWorld,’’JRS60(1970):40–48;
    revisedversioninItalianinM.Crawford,LamonetainGreciaeaRoma(1982),chap.5.


28. Asiswellknown,thequestionofthetotalsizeoftheRomanarmyintheEmpirere-
    mainsopentodiscussion.See,e.g.,A.R.Birley,‘‘TheEconomicEffectsofRomanFrontier
    Policy,’’inA.KingandM.Henig,eds.,The Roman West in the Third Century(BARInt.Ser.
    109,1981),39–53;R.MacMullen,‘‘TheRomanEmperor’sArmyCosts,’’Latomus43(1984):
    571–80.


29. SoMacMullen(n.28),580.