Well after Rome fell the currency was worthless, what else would you do with them?
I mean it took 1500 years for them to be worth more than the metal they were minted on.
Not worthless. The coinage had intrinsic value, being made of metals with a commodity value. So it’s not like holding a paper banknote when a government collapses. People would still have used them to hoard savings, for trade and melted down as a source of precious metals.
That was really the only value they ever had. Boosted a bit by confidence in the purity (but also reduced when Rome debased its coinage).
Well after Rome fell the currency was worthless, what else would you do with them? I mean it took 1500 years for them to be worth more than the metal they were minted on.
Not worthless. The coinage had intrinsic value, being made of metals with a commodity value. So it’s not like holding a paper banknote when a government collapses. People would still have used them to hoard savings, for trade and melted down as a source of precious metals.
That was really the only value they ever had. Boosted a bit by confidence in the purity (but also reduced when Rome debased its coinage).