“This is a description of hyperinflation.”
Not necessarily, the denarius was the smallest coin available at the time. It contained 3.41 grams of silver, at today’s prices that would be $2.18. I think what this verse is describing is deflation: prices are low but money is scarce. This is how my grandparents described the Depression.
Not necessarily, the denarius was the smallest coin available at the time. It contained 3.41 grams of silver, at today’s prices that would be $2.18.
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Inflation is correct. The denarius did not retain the same weight of silver throughout the years of Roman rule:
https://dollarvigilante.com/blog/2012/02/28/the-decline-and-fall-of-the-roman-denarius.html
Relevant excerpt:
The denarius began as a 4.5 gram silver coin and had stayed that way for centuries under the Roman Republic. After Rome became an empire, things began to turn sour for the denarius and, by extension, the Roman economy. Base metals, such as copper were blended in with the silver and so even though the coin itself weighed the same, the amount of silver in it became less and less with each successive emperor. Throughout the first century the denarius contained over 90% silver but by the end of the second century the silver content had fallen to less than 70%. A century later there was less than 5% silver in the coin and by 350 AD it was all but worthless, having an exchange rate of 4,600,000 to a gold solidus (or nearly 9 million to the original aureus).