Armstrong Economics

How a l l systems can

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The 3rd Century Monetary Collapse

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Are there lessons from the past

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H O W L E D G^E

H E N T 5
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T would l i k e to thank thE many people who have

been w r i t i n g from around the world. It: i
encouraging
to know t h a t there are so many people who are i n t e r e s t e d
i n uncovering tha t r u t h , i have a l s o s p e c i a l thanks f o r
stj many p r o v i d i n g v a l u a b l e i n s i g h t i n t o trends around
the world from China, S o v i e t R e p u b l i c s , South A f r i c a ,
B r a z i l , A u s t r a l i a n , and I n d i a , 1 b e l i e v e wa can s u r v i v e
tha f o l l y of governments even i f they r e f u s e to l i s t e n .
The key i s understanding the nature
i events, and t h a t
a l l o w s us to c o r r e c t l y make the d e c i s i o n to be on the
opposite side.

T would l i k e to a l s o thank a l l my o l d f r i e n d and

Corner c l i e n t s f o r t h e i r support and t o know t h a t they
have continued to gather i n f o r m a t i o n t h a t serves us a l l
i n times of c r i s i s ,
,
.
He are standing on the p r e c i p i c e o f a new era i n
g l o b a l - s o c i a l - e c o n o r n i c s . How we enter t h i s new age i s
o f c r i t i c a l importance. Government i s i n c a p a b l e to doing
anything f o r any reform of i t s own abuse of power i s not
up f o r n e g o t i a t i o n . We must weather the s t e r n , and t o do
so we need to understand i t s nature. J u s t as tha 1930s
Great Depression set i n motion profound changes t h a t were
even manifest i n g e o p o l i t i c a l c o n f r o n t a t i o n s , we have now
reached such a crossroads. A debt c r i s i s has i t s t e n t a c l e s
deeply embedded i n t o every s e c t o r r i g h t i n t o government.
This i s the d i s t i n c t i o n from 3 nets stock market c r a s h t h a t
never a l t e r s the economy long-term, Weiare s e r i o u s l y s t i l l
over-leveraged and some banks are s t i l l t r y i n g t o be hedge
funds and have to speculate to make, a p r o f i t . That i s a key
warning s i g n that the worse i s yet to coma.

Comments, S n q q & s t i o n s & Q u e s t i o n s

i
Please

mail to:
M a r t i n A, A r m s t r o n g
F C I F o r t D i x Camp, #12518-050
PO Box 2000
I
F o r t D i x , N J 08640

ME

ELE&SE REGISTER YTJUR EMZLIL AECSESS

KITUBE
NEtfS QifCICaL TO COR SDEVXVEL

Gzcyrightf Martin A, ALUfaUuiig, a l l r i g h t s r=3er?~--t3

This Report may be forwarded as you l i k e without ctarge to i n d i v i d u a l s or gDugcr/ntnt around the
world. I t i s prouidad as 3 Public Service at. t h i s tiire udthout cost ngcaus? of tha c r i t i c a l facts
that lira i-ioiu faced economically, The enntenta and designs of tha systems are i n f a c t copyrighted.
At a futura date, a ns<s\ e d i t i o n cf tha 19B5 Tha Greatest B u l l market In Hiatnry m i l l be releaaed
and a nsiu book' m i l l saan ba published an tha model i t s e l f : - The Getmetry of Time, I t i s v i t a l that
me do not forge- t h i s i a a world economy and the arrogance that any nation can dictate to the world
is j e t ir-sanity. Euery nation e f f e c t s a l l otnata nc rfiff^tait than i f one ret ion ven to pour a l l
i t s t o * i c waste into the oclan. Everything Is intarlinkedj and sciLr-inns ara nsver isolated events.

How a l l systems can

collapse overnight
The 3rd Century Monetary Collapse!
i

Are there lessors from the past

i

that equal

solutions

for the

Future?

by: M a r t i n A- Armstrong
Former Chairman o f Princeton Economics I n t e r n a t i o n a l , L t d .
and Foundation o f the Study o f j Cycles

o l l a p s e of the g l o b a l economy as we once knew i t can ;take place w i t h such

spaed, i t w i l l leave the vast majority frozen l i k e a deer i n headlights.
There was one recent movie b u i l t upon t h i s r e a l i s a t i o n o f what T r e f e r t o
as a Primary One P h a s ^ T r a n s i t i o n . That Imovie was "The Day a f t e r Tomorrow,
This was based upon the s c i e n t i f i c r e a l i t y that things l i t e the sudden and
shocking advance of an i c e age, happen; jalroost instantaneously, not the
slow gradual movement. For example, we a l l know that the north pole moves
gradually on an annual basis- Geologists can show ius where the north pole use t o be
because whenever a volcano^ erupts, the c o o l i n g magna becomes magnetized t o where the
north pole i a a t t h a t moment- So we can track where i t has been, but i t has been the
speed (timing) t h a t we have not understoodThere are b a s i c laws t h a t everything
i n the universe i s guided by and c o n t r o l led. Our s o c i a l economy i s no d i f f e r e n t
for at the foundation l i e s mother nature
h e r s e l f , i f sheihas a bad day, we a l l have
a very bad day. So the r i s e and the f a l l
of many c i v i l i z a t i o n s has been i n part
a l s o do t o the dramatic changes i n our
weather;
Our social-economic system has and
w i l l again, j u s t c o l l a p s e overnight i n
many cases. I t i s l i k e 1969 and we woke
to a student standing down a column o f
tanks i n china* A few months l a t e r , the
B e r l i n Wall f e l l and Communism came t o
an end.
The social-economic f a b r i c simply
implodes due t o the i n t e r n a l weakness

11

inherent w i t h i n the structure or the kL y

systefns. For example, the "gold standard"
collapsed i n 1971 because o f i t s defect i n
the Bretton Woods Accord back i n 1944. The
d o l l a r was f i x e d a t $35 t o one ounce o f
gold, j Yes the United States had 76% o f the
entires world gold reserves. Hence, the
d o l l a r became the reserve currency. But
the i n t e r n a l f a u l t w i t h i n the structure
was they lacked any l i m i t a t i o n upon the
creatjion o f new d o l l a r s , L i k e a f o o l who
j u s t Von the l o t t e r y and spends w i l d l y ,
we cah thank our p o l i t i c i a n s f o r the same
human|stupidity. Human nature i s one key
constant we can always count on.
What we may be f a c i n g i s a Primary
Two Pnase T r a n s i t i o n d i r e c t l y w i t h i n our
s o c i a l - e c o n o m i c - p o l i t i c a l s t r u c t u r e that
has taken place p r e v i o u s l y throughout our

recorded h i s t o r y . One o f tha best such

documented cases was the economic meltdown
of the 3rd Century. One might ask how can
t h i s be s i m i l a r t o today? The answer i s
simple. For as much as things seem t o have
changed, they remain very much the same.
The p o l i t i c a l s t r u c t u r e was not so
d i f f e r e n t from the United States today.
They too voted f o r l o c a l Senators who had
abdicated t h e i r c o n s t i t u t i o n a l power t o
the executive branch, and the once v i t a l
r o l e o f a Tribune who defended t h e people
against the c o r r u p t p o l i t i c i a n s , was then
usurped by the: Emperor, The irage was t h a t
the Emperor defended a free c o n s t i t u t i o n
t h a t was preserved w i t h d i g n i t y , honor,
and reverence, and thus the Roman people
appeared t o possess the sovereign powers
and a u t h o r i t y exercised both through the
senate t h a t they e l e c t e d , and the Tribune
o f the people i n the o f f i c e o f the emperor.
Today, we have t h e Inspector General who
w i l l i ssue r e p o r t s against the various
departments, but w h i l e h i s f u n c t i o n i s very
l o o s e l y that of the Roman Tribune i n s o f a r as
he i s t o monitor government, he has no power
t o i n d i c t , and i s o f t e n ignored- Today, the
new Obama Administration has created 31 new
shadow posts c a l l e d Czars (tsar) meaning a
"caesar" with s e m i - d i c t a t o r i a l powers. This
m i r r o r s the Roman o f f i c e o f " D i c t a t o r " f o r
they are not e l e c t e d , nor are they subject
to any o v e r s i g h t committee i n the Senate. So
you see, we too are not e x a c t l y what you
c a l l a t r u e government where the people do
honestly c o n t r o l the s t a t e .

The Roman Empire was s t r u c t u r a l l y a l s o

d i v i d e d into numerous provinces that were, not
so d i f f e r e n t from t h e s t a t e s , minus the
e l e c t i o n of a governor l o c a l l y * Hence, the
idea t h a t the favor o f the sovereign nay
confer power was the r u l e o f law, but t h a t
e x i s t s o n l y based upon the P u b l i c Confidence of the people. A l l governmental power
e x i s t s o n l y so f a r as i t does not o f f e n d
the estoren o f the people f o r t h a t alone
confers alj^pgfoer upon a sUibe - even i n
d i c t a t o r s h j p s . The reason f o r t h i s . I s t h a t
t h e ultimate check and balance becomes what
Thomas Jefferson b e l i e v e d - the r i g h t o f
the people t o break those p o l i t i c a l bonds.
T

Everything we have today i n our core

p o l i t i c a l s t r u c t u r e , remain* unchanged from
the time o f the 3rd Century. What we are
seeing i n the second-phase o f t h i s debt
c r i s i s i s the spread of unsound finance i s
undoing the economic system o f the s t a t e s .

C a l i f o r n i a i s tha 8th l a r g e s t economy i n

the woirld, and i t i s dead broke. As t h i s
begins| t o spread t o more s t a t e s , we w i l l
see t h e center core come apart. Everything
we havfe today i s dependent upon on f a c t o r ,
P u b l i c j CorificencG. The d o l l a r remains a
medium j o f exchange because there i s no
other.jOnce the confidence of the people
i s undermined i n t h i s respect, everything
implodes as we see took p l a c e during the
3rd Century where the value o f currency
f e l l s i d r a m a t i c a l l y , i t purchased 1/50th
of what i t once d i d , and even taxes began
t o be C o l l e c t e d i a k i n d , f o r the government
would not accept even I t s own currency i n
payment,'

Perhaps our g r e a t e s t problem i n making

advanceJiient i n our s o c i a l - p o l i t i c a l - e c o n o m i c
development, has been the arrogance t h a t we
can c o n t r o l such v a r i a b l e s , and t h a t leads
t o p o l i t i c a l i n t e r v e n t i o n i n t o things they
have no idea o f what they are doing. I t i s
the very nature o f a Phase T r a n s i t i o n that
p o l i t i c i a n s have no concept what i t even i s
no l e s s about how t o manage such a t r u l y
a s t o n i s h i n g nature o f how a l l systems do i n
f a c t function.
I f you b o i l a pot o f water, pay very
c l o s e a t t e n t i o n t o how the water b o i l s . I t
i s by nb means a steady l i n e a r progression.
What r e a l l y happens i s that as the water
begins [to cotne c l o s e to the b o i l i n g p o i n t ,
the wax!er w i l l jump i n t o a sudden b u r s t o f
conduct! that we c a l l a Phase T r a n s i t i o n .
The warier i s being transformed from a l i q u i d
i n t o a [gas. When t h i s takes place, there i s
a departure from the l i n e a r f u n c t i o n o f a
Steady [rise i n temperatue, t o a sudden burst
or explosion i n t o a new s t a t e . This change
i n stages from l i q u i d t o gas i s what can be
c a l l e d ia Phase T r a n s i t i o n .
i J o r i i c a l l y , t h i s i s how human nature
a l s o responds. Everyone knows our p o l i t i c i a n s
are corrupt as they knew i n China and R u s s i a .
People t o l e r a t e being r u l e d and p o l i t i c i a n s
mistake t h i s as a s i g n o r confirmation of
t h e i r power. But t h a t power e x i s t s s o l e l y
at the [pleasure o f the people. Once a l i n e
i s crossed, that i s where r e v o l u t i o n explodes
appearilag; t o r i s e from nortiere, t h a t i s t h e
Phase T r a n s i t i o n ,
!

Mo doubt there are s k e p t i c s . That i s part o f the

the very s t r u c t u r a l nature. There must always be two
sides t o every argument. There are some people who no
matter what you say, they w i l l refuse to ever l i s t e n .
They are part o f the c y c l e and help t o create n a t u r a l
swings i n p o l i t i c s , law, and markets.
A Phase T r a n s i t i o r i e x i s t s and can be measured i n
an empiracl manner j u s t l i k e a pot o f water. Gold had
bottomed a t 3700 i n 1976. By December 1979, i t had been
a steady progression where i t f i n a l l y reached $400. y e t
between December and January 21st, g o l d erupted i n t o a
Phase T r a n s i t i o n and i t peaked a t $375. I t more than
doubled i n the l a s t few weeks what had taken 3 years
to accomplish. Wow look a t the NASDAQ monthly chart for'
the bubble Dot.Com peak. This too was a Phase T r a n s i t i r J i
and we can see t h a t between 1998 the NASDAQ rose from
1,000 t o 2,200 by the l a s t quarter o f 1999. We then see
an e x p l o s i t i o n w i t h a r i s e t o 4,882 reaching i t s high
on March 24th, 2000- L i k e gold, that exploded about 2.1
times i n the l a s t period, the JfeSDftg s i m i l a r l y ^exploded
about the same percentage gain.
We can f i n d a Phase T r a n s i t i o n f o r example i n t h e
Nikkei 225 f o r 19S9, but we do not see that i n the Dow
i n 2007. I t i s the debt markets. These moves are
dramatic, profound, and s i g n i f i c a n t . We d i d see t h i s
today i n the debt markets concentrated w i t h i n the
F i n a n c i a l sector. How markets unfold i s very c r i t i c a l .

SttemfKtftAl Desert o Cyfc/es

t i s time t o peal back: the next Layer o f t h i s onion o f S t r u c t u r a l Design*

Wow that we understand that there are normal r a l l i e s that do not end w i t h
the explosive move, there are the bubble topsj t h a t are Phase T r a n s i t i o n s
t h a t are the hallmarks o f s i g n i f i c a n t changes' as we saw i n Japan i n 1989,
then there i s the W a t e r f a l l E f f e c t where therk i s no r a l l y per se, i t i s
the r o l l i n g over o f the economy i n a more sudden death. 1 perhaps shocked
many with showing that the 'TJricertainty P r i n c i p l e " o f Werner Heisenberg (1901-1976)
a l s o explains how the s o c i a l - p o l i t i c i a l - e c o n o m l c s t r u c t u r e we c a l l c i v i l i s a t i o n i n
f a c t works. We can s t a t i s t i c a l l y p r e d i c t t h a t a certain} number o f i n d i v i d u a l s w i l l
be b u l l i s h o r bearish a t a given time. Itowever, we cannot p r e d i c t which s p e c i f i c
i n d i v i d u a l w i l l be b u l l i s h o r bearish. This i s how c y c l e s e x i s t s , yet they are a l s o
not a r e d e t e r m i n e d manner o f f a t e that prevents o r d i c t a t e s on an i n d i v i d u a l l e v e l .
I t i s the group behavior t h a t i s s t a t i s t i c a l l y p r e d i c t a b l e - not the i n d i v i d u a l .
I t i s true that Albert E i n s t e i n s a i d
" I cannot b e l i e v e that God plays d i c e with
the universe." Nevertheless, Heisenbarg's
theory has not been disproven. Perhaps, w&
are f a c i n g such complexity that i t I s not
t r u l y a crap-shoot j u s t yet, but beyond
our a b i l i t y to measure and c a l c u l a t e the
events that cause a. p a r t i c u l a r a c t i o n be
i t an atom o r why the Dow c l o s e s where i t
w i l l tamofow. Perhaps l i k e the TV s e r i e s
Star Trek t h a t i n s p i r e d so many people t o
create things from MRls t o f l i p - c e l l phone
designs, Heisenberg's day w i l l yet come.

What we are d e a l i n g w i t h here i s a f u l l

blown S t r u c t u r a l Design o f hew everything
works i n the world we are i n and i s around
us both p h y s i c a l and a d e r i v a t i v e o f our key
i n t e r a c t i o n s . What makes the economic crash
i s a conplex s e t o f i n t e r a c t i o n s . I t w i l l
focus p r i m a r i l y upon one sector. Yet t h i s i s
a symptom, not the cause, Tha r a i s i n g o f the
i n t e r e s t r a t e s i n t o 1981 t o f i g h t i n f l a t i o n
i s the s o l u t i o n f o r t h a t c y c l e t h a t creates
the problem f o r the next c y c l e . This i s what
I c a l l thej Paradox o f S o l u t i o n . I t r e l e t s
the complexity o f the system we l i v e i n .

A Phase T r a n s i t i o n i n markets and i n the

economy, are p o i n t s when the status quo that
t r a d i t i o n a l l y e x i s t s between the two camps of
b e l i e f s t h a t i n p o l i t i c s m i g h t be democrat &
republican and i n markets b u l l s 5 bears, j u s t
s h i f t t o where there I s suddenly a dramatic
imbalance.

If, you h o l d your arm s t r a i g h t up i n the

a i r above your head, i t ' s no problem, ftaep i t
there. Suddenly i t becomes so heavy, i t i s no
longer s u s t a i n a b l e . The same i s t r u e w i t h
sleep. Vou cannot maintain the energy output
and you| w i l l c o l l a p s e i f you t r y t o stay up
a l l the! time. The economy can simply j u s t
c o l l a p s e when there becomes a major.imr*Qahce_

At a conference I held i n Tokyo, a r i c h

i n d i v i d u a l bribed h i s way i n when t h i s was a
session f o r i n s t i t u t i o n s o n l y . He wanted t o
ask me a pressing question. He had purchased
the N i k k e i 225 on the very day o f the high i n
December 1989. The market was down 30% and he
informed me he had never purchased stock i n
his l i f e . This was h i s f i r s t investment and
he vffls over 65. I was curious. I had j u s t met
the man that d i d buy the high. I asked him
what convinced htm t o buy? He s a i d brokers
c a l l e d him every year t r y i n g t o get him t o
i n v e s t and pointed out t h a t t t h e N i k k e i had
r i s e n 5-7% every January f o r the past s e v e r a l
years. Each time he s a i d no, and watched the
brokers being c o r r e c t . He f i n a l l y bought the
high looking t o make that 5-7% i n 3D days.
He invested $50 m i l l i o n . That i s what I am
t a l k i n g about. When you have sucked i n every
l a s t person, you reach a c r i t i c a l point i n
entropy and the system w i l l now c o l l a p s e .

The concept of entropy i s not always

the e a s i e s t to e x p l a i n outside o f physics
c l a s s J Tt i s formally a measure o f the una v a i l a b l e energy i n a c l o s e d system i n
ferrrodynamics so r e l a t e d t o the s t a t e of
the system that a change i n the measure
varies: w i t h change In the r a t i o of the
increment of heat taken i n to the absolute
temperature a t which i t i s absorbed. How
they can't say I did not g i v e an explanation.
it i s t h i s t r a n s f e r o f energy that i s
known as entropy that i s seme times commonly
a l s o termed - from d i s o r d e r emerges order.
Yes itj can be v i s u a l i s e d i n many ways even
outside of ttermcdynamics. I t can be a l s o
the measure o f the amount of information i n
a message t h a t i s based on the logarithm of
the nuiViber of p o s s i b l e equivalent messages.
I t can! a l s o be the degradation of the matter
and energy i n the universe t o an u l t i m a t e
state of i n e r t u n i f o r m i t y . However, i t can
also be more down t o e a r t h and be used t o
describe the steady degradation of disorgani z a t i o n o f a p o l i t i c a l system or s o c i e t y as
a whole.

Government has launched countless and

major i n v e s t i g a t i o n s t r y i n g t o f i n d t h a t
group t h a t s o l d the high and forced the
collapse. They never found anyone. The very
reason why i s not merely i s i t impossible f o r
an i n d i v i d u a l t o overpower the f r e e markets,
but when everyone i s now long looking f o r
the p r o f i t , a l l you need do i s scare the herd
and they w i l l panic l i k e w i l d animals. Since ,
the vast majority are long, you now have the
vast majority t r y i n g t o s e l l . There are no
buyers, and thus i t c o l l a p s e s , not because
of short p l a y e r s , but because' the longs are
going through a Phase T r a n s i t i o n transforming
l i k e water t o gas i n t o bears with no l o g i c .
Panic unfolds and when you outlaw shorts, i t
gets f a r worse. The only person who w i l l buy
i n such a panic i s a jihort who i s t a k i n g h i s
p r o f i t . Outlaw shorts, and you have no such
buying i n the middle o f panics and thus the
decline becomes f a r worse as i t d i d i n 1929.
When the Senate was h a u l i n g i n everyone t o
f i n d out who was short, s h o r t s e l l i n g j u s t
d r i e d up. This i s one o f the primary reasons
why the stock market d e c l i n e i n the United
States during the 1930s was n e a r l y 90%. They
made short s e l l i n g u n p a t r i o t i c .

Ii
Think of i t t h i s way. When you are born,
everything ccmes together c r e a t i n g , l e t us say
from a biased perspective, "order" being a
l i v i n g organism. Now l e t us r e a l i z e t h a t the
j o i n e d matter c o n s t i t u t i n g our body i s a l s o
moving toward a point of maximum growth where
we peak i n performance, h e a l t h , height, e t c .
From t h i s maximum point o f "order the matter
then c o n s t i t u t e s our parson, i s seeking t o go
back bb d i s o r d e r , meaning death. This ifc how
c a p i t a l concentrates i n t o a s i n g l e sector and
c r e a t e ^ the DOT.COM bubble top, but that energy w i l l now t u r n and seek s e l f - p r e s e r v a t i o n
and thus w i l l move back t o " d i s o r d e r " that i s
the c x i s h .
i
When people lose money, they t u r n t o the
p o l i t i c i a n and demand laws t o prevent markets
from d e c l i n i n g . This i s not "disorder" but a
r e s t o r a t i o n o f "order" rebooting the system
and c r e a t i n g the stage f o r the next c y c l e .
4

In thermodynamics, i f you take a hot

stone and place i t on top o f a c o l d stone
of the same m a t e r i a l , the heat w i l l flow
t o the colder object u n t i l they both w i l l
reach the same temperature. These ideas
may seem strange f o r economics, but i t i n
f a c t governs our world as w e l l .
Notice t h a t I emphasized " c l o s e d "
system. This i s very Important. I f the
system i s closed, then we need not deal
with any other influences coming from
other sources. This i s how p o l i t i c i a n s
t r y t o run our economy - i n the sheer and
dark world, of o b l i v i o n . They t r y t o feed
us a s i n g l e explanation f o r any event and
you can bet i t never involves any a c t i o n
on t h e i r p a r t . Thus, they perpetuate the
nonsense o f a "closed economy i g n o r i n g
a l l other e x t e r n a l forces i n c l u d i n g those
of the primary agent - themselves. The
r e s u l t - economic d r i v e l !

T i e " o ^ t a g i c s v i s a major e f f e c t t h a t
demonstrates t h a t there are e x t e r n a l forces
and that one cannot manage the economy f o r
i t i s tot a closed system. I t i s f a r more
complex and t h i s i s why government i n t e r v e n t i o n u s u a l l y creates more damage than i t has
ever avoided, nothing Roosevelt d i d changed
the course o f the economy. I t was what came
afterwards - W A R t h a t pressed the r e a l
red button marked "REBOOT" t h a t got things
going again. The "New Deal" d i d nothing a t
a l l to! reverse the economic trend. The only
program that had a b e n e f i t was the HPA, not
to r e s t a r t t h e economy, but bo help t r a i n
farmers t o hectare s k i l l e d labor. The Qbama
s t i m u l i ^ f o r i n f r a s t r u c t u r e w i l l have no
e f f e c t other than push us dangerously close
to the i n e v i t a b l e W a t e r f a l l E f f e c t .

11

what I want t o show you i s t h a t indeed

f o r much things appear t o progress and change,
they indeed remain very much t h e same. What
we arel f a c i n g i s a c l a s s i c W a t e r f a l l E f f e c t
t h a t unfolds as a Primary-Two Phase Transit i o n . Although we are about t o look at the
r e a l h i s t o r y o f the 3rd Century AD, you can
j u s t replace the names w i t h f a m i l i a r ones of
the present and see l i t t l e d i f f e r e n c e .

The very existence o f a "contagion"

disputes everything the p o l i t i c i a n s even
pretend they have power over. They are
no more capable of running the economy
than I am t r y i n g to be a b r a i n surgeon.

M
0:n>TlLl-^ta:T

any people attempt t o be

analysts o r economists,
yet they speak without
having r e a l experience
and they- f a i l t o see t h a t
they are r e a l l y nothing
more than a f l y on the ass of a b i g
elephant. They do not r e a l i z e they
are even s i t t i n g on an elephant and
worse s t i l l , they do not understand
what i s an elephant. They w i l l j u s t
never know unless they step back or
take f l i g h t so they can gain v i t a l
perspective and a t l a s t see what the
elephant even looks l i k e . This i s
what we are f a c i n g . The elephant i s
the world economy that we cannot see
i f we are too c l o s e . I discovered the
W a t e r f a l l Effect only by observing
thousands o f years of data.

The 3rd Century

Monetary Collapse of the Reran Empire
10BC - 290AD
C O L L A P S E
MONETARY

OF

THE

S Y S T EM

S I L V E R

'ROHAN

W g;A S O R E D

CONTENT

BY

I do not mean t o be arrogant. Vet

the problem i s not d i s s i m i l a r from the
c l a s h between the established b e l i e f of
the o l d world that t h e earth was both
f l a t and t h a t the sun revolved around us
because heaven and h e l l were c l e a r l y
f i x e d places'above and below.
There i s no question that e m p i r i c a l
evidence o f the cannon observation was
t h a t the earth was f l a t , aside from t h e
r o l l i n g h i l l s and mountains. This view
was c e r t a i n l y l o g i c a l because l i k e t h e
f l y on the elephant, we were t o o c l o s e
to observe that I t was a gldbe.
By focusing upon o n l y the Jjntiedrate
short-term data, we can come up w i t h an
array of methods t o analyze what we a r e
l o o k i n g a t . However, that i s not a t any
way r e f l e c t i v e of r e a l i t y . We can come up
w i t h things l i k e E l l i o t Wave, b u t t h e b i g
question t h a t jumps out i s are we. only
observing the minor f l u c t u a t i o n s w i t h i n
the bigger whole?
.From observing t h e very extremely
long-term data, t h i s i s where we a r r i v e

a t the b i g p i c t u r e o f the W a t e r f a l l
E f f e c t . I f we focus c l o s e l y upon any
s e c t i o n , we w i l l see t h e patterns and
the r i s e and f a l l and minor Phase Transi t i o n s that create the bubble tops along
the way- Yet stepping back, we begin t o
r e a l i z e that t h i s i s t h e "noise" and
i s w i t h i n the realm o f Heisenrjerg s
Uncertainty P r i n c i p l e .
1

The shocking t h i n g t h a t emerges

from t h e long-term data, i s that d r a s t i c
movements" that topple c i v i l i z a t i o n along
the way, take place i n t h e s h o r t e s t
amount of t i n e . T h i s i n t h e short-term
world can even be explained as what we
are seeing r i g h t now - t h e "contagion."
The d e t a i l e d chart I have provided of
the 3rd Century Meltdown took place on
a massive s c a l e w i t h i n j u s t 13 years!
That i s stunning i n s o f a r as we are not
l o o k i n g a t j u s t short-term, but a 1,000
year h i s t o r y l This d i s p e l s the slow and
steady l i n e a r progression, and r e f l e c t s
the t r u e nature of how major events do
take place j u s t as i n t h e movie "The
Day A f t e r Tomorrow." This i s important
to understand, because i t e f f e c t s our
perspective o f p o s s i b i l i t i e s .

rroganoe.has o ften been our worst enemy. I t prevents us from r i s i n g t o t h e

next l e v e l o f understanrling. We assume t h a t we are so wise, that we know
evei^iJring, s o why bother l o o k i n g at the paat? A f t e r a l l , they were j u s t a
bunch o f sword f i g h t i n g spear chuckers. What we miss, i s that while we may
have technology and can now shoot each other, t h e human character has not
changed. What does i t matter i f you d i e by a sword Or you are shot i n t h e
head. You are s t i l l dead. Human nature never changes, f o r t h a t i s s t i l l the
u n i f y i n g constant throughout a l l t i n e . As I showed i n previous w r i t i n g s , government
does not b e l i e v e i n God and c e r t a i n l y nor do p o l i t i c i a n s , f o r by t h e i r a c t i o n s , they
d i s p l a y perpetual c u p i d i t y and c l i n g t o a l l power w i t h intense avarice.
During the Imperial Age o f Rome 27BC
t o 476AD, t h e f i r s t Roman Emperor who
began the process o f debasing the money
by reducing t h e s i l v e r content, was Nero
(54-6JAD). I t i s remarkable, t h a t during
the Republican period between 240BC up
to Hero, the q u a l i t y of the Roman S i l v e r
Denarius was l a r g e l y unchanged. We see
debasement o f currency as e a r l y as i n
L y d i a during the i n v a s i o n o f Cyrus The
Great d u r i n g t h e 6th Century DC, as i n
other c i t y s t a t e s . However, we a l s o

see i t i n t h e currency o f Athens when i t

came under s e i z e by Sparta, Thus, economic
s t r e s s from war has been a primary f a c t o r
t h a t can be demonstrated e m p i r i c a l l y by the
monetary h i s t o r y of man.
The d e c l i n e of the Soman Empire was
a r a t h s r steady progression o f emperors, who
l i k e our p o l i t i c i a n s today, care nothing o f
the long-term, and focus only upon the very
inmedia'te term o f reference. P o l i t i c i a n s
w i l l not r i s k t h e i r e l e c t i o n u n t i l t h e c r i s i s
happens.

This chart of the Monetary System o f

Pome cost us probably more than $20 m i l l i o n
to create, back when a m i l l i o n was worth
something. I have been asked, did' enough
icoins survive? The answer i s yesl You can
buy some Roman coins f o r as l i t t l e as $10
because they are s t i l l p l e n t i f u l - Why have
they survived? EN^rything from shipwrecks
to t h e f a c t that hoards a r e o f t e n dug up
t h a t ccme from (1) i n d i v i d u a l s a c t u a l l y
burying t h e i r money l a c k i n g banks, and (2)
the treasurer would bury the p a y r o l l going
i n t o b a t t l e so the other-side would not get
i t i f they l o s t . They have even found mints
i n the E a l k i n s With as much as 20-30 m i l l i o n
coins s u r v i v i n g .

I have explained i n previous w r i t i n g s ,

that t h e major C y c l e o f P o l i t i c a l Change
appears t o be the duration of 224 years In
which there a r e 25 periods of 8.615 years.
I f we look a t the s t a r t o f t h i s c y c l e from
the a s s a s s i n a t i o n of J u l i u s Caesar i n 44BC,
112 years f o r the h a l f c y c l e brings us t o
the end o f the J u l i o - C l a u d i a n Era w i t h the
death of Hero i n 66 AD and the s t a r t o f a
new c i v i l war. This erupts with generals
t r y i n g t o s e i z e power, Galba, Otho, V i t e l l i u s
and the v i c t o r , Vespasian (69-79AD).
The Jews saw t h i s as an opportunity t o
r e v o l t and perhaps break away. This i s why
Vespasian had no choice and crushed them
leading t o Wasada, Had he not responded, i t
would have been p o s s i b l e t h a t a "contagion"
would have developed and the provinces would
r e v o l t ending the Bnpixe r i g h t there and
then. This i s the p o l i t i c a l s i g n i f i c a n c e f o r
a d v e r t i s i n g on the coinage not t h a t Judaea
was conquered, but i t was "vanquished" f o r
t h i s symbolizes punishment.
1

The Roman coinage enabled us t o put

together the e n t i r e monetary system of the
period w i t h such accuracy, one would be
amazed i f you were u n f a m i l i a r w i t h the key
m a t e r i a l . The coins are e f f e c t i v e l y dated
on an annual b a s i s depending on the t i t l e s
t h a t increment annually. I n a d d i t i o n , the .
Romans used coins l i k e newspapers. They used
the reverse s i d e of the c o i n t o announce
everything from v i c t o r i e s , t o grand opening
events such as the Coliseum p i c t u r e d on a
coin o f T i t u s (79-81AD).

The second h a l f of the c y c l e from 6B

brings us t o the death o f Marcus Aureli.ug
(161-180AD), where everyone has drawn the
l i n e w i t h the beginning o f the d e c l i n e and
f a l l o f the Roman Empire. He i s succeeded
by h i s son, OJimodus (177^192PJ>} - I t i s h i s
death t h a t begins t o show the c o l l a p s e i n
the r u l e o f law altogether.

VESPASIAN
(69-75

AD,).

The o f f i c e of the
Emperor was auctioned
off t o the highest b i d der. Didius J u l i a n u s p a i d
25,000 s e s t e r t i i per man
DID!US JULIANUS,
to the praetorian guards.
(m
A.D.).
Although he survived only
3 months, he minted a l o t
of coinage t o pay h i s debt a l s o showing h i s
w i f e and daughter i n p o r t r a i t coinage. Three
other contenders a l s o minted coinage, but d i d
not s u r v i v e - Pertinax, Pesccrmius Niger,
Clodius A l b i n o s .

The above i l l u s t r a t i o n i s the reverse

of a denarius issued by Vespasian {G9-79AD)
announcing he vanquished Judaea i n 7QAD. We
f i n d c o i n s o f Philip I issued in 24BAD to
celebrate the 1,000 year anniversary of the
founding of Rome.

Here we have a denarius struck under

Septimus Severus (193-211AD) showing a
Roman g a l l e y With a s a i l and gangway t o
the .ground with
annimals a r r i v i n g f o r
a great show a t the Coliseum. There are
quadrigae (chariots) shewing there w i l l
be g r e a t races as w e l l . The second c o i n
shows a cap and two daggers. I t was issued
by Brutus announcing he k i l l e d J u l i u s
Caesar on the Ides o f March {15th). Coins
were the newspapers of ancient times. Thus,
h i s t o r y i s v e r i f i e d and recorded by the
reverse side o f the coinage.

SEPTI M i l l s
SEVERUS,
;T 93-2II A.b.).

CAHACALLA,

The v i c t o r was
aaptiMffl Severus (193-211
AD) who restored order
and r e b u i l t defenses. He
was succeeded by h i s son
Caracalla (198-217flDj
who k i l l e d h i s brother,
raided the tomb of A l e x ander the Great, and was
one of the r e a l tyrants
of Pome.

I t i s w i t h the r e i g n of Caracal l a that

we f i r s t see that the dramatic e f f e c t s of
i n f l a t i o n are causing changes that are i n
f a c t s i g n i f i c a n t - From about 240 Be u n t i l
h i s r e i g n begins a f t e r h i s father's death
i n 211AD, a new denomination i s introduced
t h a t becomes known as the Rntoninianus t h a t
i s a double denarius, but the weight i s
o n l y about 1| times a denarius. From t h i s
period forward, i n f l a t i o n e f f e c t i v e l y d r i v e s
the denarius eventually out o f c i r c u l a t i o n
and i s not r e g u l a r l y issued.
C a r a c a l l a i s a l s o responsible f o r h i s
d e c l a r a t i o n of P e n c i t i z e n s h i p to every
person even i n the provinces. H i s t o r i a n s
who l a c k the r e a l understanding of economic
events, have claimed t h i s i s the only r e a l
"good a c t i o n " a t t r i b u t e d to him, we must
look deeper. Yes, he bestowed c i t i z e n s h i p
upon a l l f r e e i n h a b i t a n t s throughout the
whole empire. However, h i s motives were
not magnanimous i n the l e a s t . Only c i t i z e n s
were subject to i n h e r i t a n c e taxes. So what
he d i d was demand h i s pound o f f l e s h from
everyone i n the Empire upon t h e i r death.
Sometimes, you j u s t have to pick up the rug,
and then you see the r e a l d i r t . He was
murdered by the P r a e t o r i a n P r e f e c t Hacrinus
at Edessa on March n t h , 217AD.
Macrirtus (217-21SSD) was saluted as
emperor by the troops. Eut he q u i c k l y f e l l
a f t e r j u s t 14 months to a p l o t by one of the
most ambitious female dominant f a m i l i e s ,
who were cousins o f C a r a c a l l a , orchestrated
by j u l i a Maesa i n favor o f her grandson the
notorious Elaaaoalus {318-22ADK

EL A G A it ALUS*
(213-322 \.J>.).

JVXACKINUS217-218 i\ i ]-

Elagabalus was born i n S y r i a a t Emesa

located on the Orontes r i v e r . He was a nutjob. Issued coins showing a black stone t h a t
f e l l from heaven t h a t became known as the
"Stone o f Emesa" t h a t lie claimed was a g i f t
from God. He created a temple f o r the stone.
He issued coins d i s p l a y i n g the stone drawn
by c h a r i o t s .
Under Elagabalus, we s t i l l see the
s i l v e r denarius issued 3 to 1 r e l a t i v e t o
the double ctonarius (antoninianus). VJe see
a host o f coinage d e p i c t i n g the females

who dominated h i s family - 5 i n a l l . T h i s i s

the emperor who perfonned l i v e homosexual a c t s
and ordered the troops to bring to the palace
the men with the l a r g e s t penis, i f you could
imagine having t h a t job. He was murdered by
the guards w i t h h i s mother J u l i a Soaeraias,
and t h e i r bodies were dragged through the
s t r e e t s of Seme and thrown i n t o the r i v e r *

SEYliRUN
ALEXA^JUK.
(222-235 A.D.).

His cousin Severus Alexander (222-235 AD)

was h a i l e d as emperor by the guards, f o r he
was a hopeful t h a t Rome could f i n d another
Septimus Severus. But again, he was murdered
with h i s mother J u l i a Mamaea who was the s i s t e r
o f Elagnbalus'n mother. Be had ruled: a t l e a s t
wisely and was normal r a t h e r than the t y r a n t
as h i s two cousins.

MASIMTNUS I.

The r i s e of Majdminus I {235-238AD) i s a

story of. absolute tyranny that haa separated
t h i s man from j u s t about everyone e l s e i n the
annals o f Roman h i s t o r y . He may not be as w e l l
known as C a l i g u l a , JJero, Cbnrocdus, and even
C a r a c a l l a . This i s the emperor t h a t exposed
both the theory o f Marxism f o r what i t t r u l y
i s , the concentration of wealth to the s t a t e ,
and the r e a l i t y of the tyranny o f the crime o f
Conspiracy t h a t i s the cornerstone o f how the
United States prosecutes a l l f e d e r a l crimes
yet has been outlawed i n most a l l other t r u l y
c i v i l i s e d nations.
Hie d e s c r i p t i o n I can o f f e r here o f t h i s
infamous r u l e r i s f a r fron the d e t a i l e d r e a l
account i t deserves. In b r i e f , he himself had
"conspired" to have Severus Alexander k i l l e d
by the troops and then to have himself h a i l e d
as emperor. People judge others by themselves,
and t h i s maxim explains Maximirac; accurately.

The H i s t o r i c Augusta providing a v i v i d

account of the l i v e s o f various emperors up
to t h i s period o f time, has been controvers i a l as t o when i t was w r i t t e n be i t i n the
3rd o r 4th century. Nevertheless, t h i s book
t e l l s us t h a t Maximinus was bom i n Thrace
t h a t bordered the barbarians as the edge o f
the empire. I t was reported that Maximinus
was himself a barbarian born o f a f a t h e r
who was a Goth {Swede) and h i s nether was
an A l a n i _ Perhaps t h i s may be t r u e f o r he
seems t o have harboured o deep hatred o f
the Senate and of the r i c h nobles. Vte are
t o l d t h a t he kept h i s o r i g i n concealed yet
i t i s p o s s i b l e t h i s account was made t o
e x p l a i n h i s Utter contempt f o r what appears
to have been Roman c i v i l i z a t i o n i t s e l f .

Kaximinus d e s t a b i l i z e d the e n t i r e Roman

society by h i s use of conspiracy. Because a
i n d i v i d u a l need not even attempt t o commit
a crime j u s t t a l k about i t , t h i s turns man
against h i s brother f o r suddenly now everyone
baoonss an agent o f the s t a t e and i s t o r e p o r t
anything they hear. S o c i e t y became i n f e s t e d
w i t h s p i e s and informers, and those who had
a grudge against anyone, could q u i c k l y c l a i m
he conspired against the s t a t e by h i s words.
Indeed, r e c e n t l y , there were the young teenage
arabs i n New Jersey who were j u s t given l i f e
f o r c o n s p i r i n g t o be t e r r o r i s t s by entering
Port Dix m i l i t a r y base t o shoot s o l d i e r s . The
evidence vffls a conspiracy and a f r i e n d was a
informant, yet there was no attempt. This i s
how conspiracy was created under Jfe>dminus.

Having himself p l o t t e d the murder o f

an emperor, he d i s t r u s t e d v i r t u a l l y everyone and t r e a t e d many with seething contempt.
He disregarded a l l law and even had such
contempt f o r Roman c i v i l i 2 a t i o n , he r u l e d
from the provinces d e c l i n i n g t o even t r a v e l
to Rone u n t i l he decided t o march up i t .

The e n t i r e Roman world was stunned whan

Haximinus used conspiracy against a high ranking senator by the name o f Magnus. There was
no t r i a l , no c a l l i n g o f the witness who was
the informer who was protected by Maximinus,
and thus there was no opportunity t o present
a defense. Magnus was found g u i l t y , but t h i s
s i n g l e man would not perhaps be remembered
by h i s t o r y . What made t h i s case transcend the
centuries, was t h a t Maximinus then pronounced
4,000 others g u i l t y of conspiracy w i t h him and
had everyone executed w i t h t h e i r property a l l
confiscated. Magnus was o f consular rank and
that today would be a k i n t o charging a v i c e
president, and then summarily executing every
person he ever had a meeting w i t h , as w e l l as
the e n t i r e white house s t a f f .

MaxdminUE made the crime of conspiracy

as i t i s s t i l l used i n the united States
today, what i t i s . There are thus three
stages t o commit a crime (1) you commit i t ,
(2) you attempt t o commit i t , (3) you are
a l l e g e d t o t h i n k about committing a crime
c a l l e d a "'ooosriiracy^ t h a t i s prosecuted
by claiming one person made some preparation
t h a t others knew about, but d i d not i n f a c t
p a r t i c i p a t e . This was a f a v o r i t e crime o f the
E n g l i s h kings t o k i l l t h e i r enemies' on the
charge t h a t i f given tfie time, they would
at l e a s t advance t o the next stage t o then
attempt t o commit the crime.
Combine t h i s expansion of conspiracy
w i t h h i s hatred o f the " r i c h " t h a t included
the Senate, and you have a l e t h a l t y r a n t ,
perhaps f o r the abuse of conspiracy t h a t
was c a r r i e d out under Maximinus, i t has
been outlawed as a crime i n Europe and most
c i v i l i z e d nations except the united States
and even England i s not as abusive w i t h i t
whereas i n America, every Federal case i s
charged as a conspiracy s i n c e i t does not
r e q u i r e proof o f even an attempt. Back at
the t u r n o f the century, J u s t i c e Holmes
warned t h a t i f the day ever came that every
case would be charged as a conspiracy, i t
would again be an abuse, Unfortunately, no
one cares t o stop the trend today.

Haximinus rarely* ever showed any l e n i t y .

I f he d i d , i t was t o merely c o n f i s c a t e a l l
you any your family had and order you i n t o
e x i l e , or he granted you a s w i f t an p a i n l e s s
death i n s t e a d of t o r t u r i n g you. Some o f h i s
a l l e g e d c r i m i n a l s he had sewed up i n s i d e the
hides o f a slaughtered animal and h u r r i e d
a l i v e . . Others were f e d t o animals t o be eaten
a l i v e . Others he would order to be beaten t o
death w i t h clubs. He trampled on every r i g h t ,
p r i v i l e g e , immunity and p r i n c i p l e of law and
j u s t i c e and h i s c o n v i c t i o n r a t e o f 99% has
been matched by the same abuse of conspiracy
laws f e d e r a l l y i n the United S t a t e s ,
H i s contempt f o r the " r i c h " and f o r the
Senate, reached i t s peak w i t h a decree t h a t
went so f a r , i t would have delighted K a r l
HBEK and s o c i a l i s t s a l i k e . He decreed t h a t
a l l wealth was h i s (the state) and could be
used as h i s treasury saw f i t .

10

o f only 36 days. During t h i s very short

reign, there were ample c o i n s minted, but
again we o n l y f i n d the denarius. HQ can see
that the p o l i t i c a l f a b r i c i s s t a r t i n g t o
j u s t come apart a t the seams.

Maximinus hated the " r i c h " and c l e a r l y

believed that t h e i r wealth belonged t o the
s t a t e . He showed even h i s contempt f o r the
gods by ordering t h a t a l l temples were t o
be s t r i p p e d o f t h e i r wealth. Countless had
d i e d i n defense o f t h e i r r e l i g i o u s b e l i e f s .
T h i s a c t was no d i f f e r e n t than Benry VIII,
Napoleon, and Ccnstantine, but a t l e a s t they
pretended they were reforming r e l i g i o n , i n
a e f f o r t t o hide t h e i r t h i r s t f o r money.
He ordered a l l gold statues of gods
and fanner emperors t o be melted down and
everything was t o be turned i n t o c o i n t o
feed maintaining power. There were numerous
massacres and persecutions, and the s o l d i e r s
perhaps were on board because they . convinced
themselves that (1) they were j u s t obeying
orders, and (2) shared i n the booty seised.

Indeed, H i s t o r i a Augusta t e l l e us that

he '"condemned a l l whoever came t o t r i a l " and
"reduced the r i c h e s t men t o u t t e r poverty."
You can now understand the only r i v a l of
any p o s i t i o n emerged as the Senate. They
were l i v i n g i n f e a r , and had no choice when
the c i t y was overrun w i t h s p i e s and informers
t h a t reduced Kome t o a s t a t e not d i s s i m i l a r
to that of the former East Germany.
The Senate h e l d a meeting and declared
Maximinus a p u b l i c enemy as the consul thus
reminded "quera hostem necum ante d i x i s t i s
and ordered the a r r e s t and execution o f a l l
informers and s p i e s w i t h i n Rome. Everyone
who had given witness against another t o the
b e n e f i t of Maxintiniis were executed. They
then e l e c t e d two renown men t o share the
o f f i c e o f Emperor, Gordian I and h i s son
Gordian II, f o r now Maximiitus was going t o
march upon Rome i t s e l f f o r executing h i s
informers and r e s i s t i n g h i s laws.
1 1

This was becoming a conflict between the

very i d e a o f c i v i l i s a t i o n and a t y r a n t of such
unbelievable contempt f o r everything that had
ever symbolized progress. H i s i n t e n t t o j u s t
seize a l l wealth and e l i m i n a t e the so c a l l e d
" r i c h " has been mimicked throughout the many
centuries t h a t have passed. This was the true
dream of K a r l Marx and was i n f a c t i n s t i t u t e d
by Vladimir Lenin (1670-1924) i n the Russian
Revolution and Mao Tse-tung {1893-1976) n
China. Iftiis hatred of the " r i c h " has l e d t o
the deaths o f countless m i l l i o n s and w i l l no
doubt continue to do so i n the f u t u r e . For as
much as everything appears to progress and
change, the core human c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s remain
unchanged. We can only imagine had Karl Marx
been handed the same power as Baximirius, I
doubt t h a t the end r e s u l t would have been any
different.
When the Senate heard of the deaths of the
two Gordian emperors, they paniced f o r now they
knew t h a t Maximinus was marching upon Rome and
not a senator would be l e f t a l i v e . They rushed
and now appointed two new candidates and one
was t o defend Rome and the people i n b a t t l e ,
while the other was to administer the executive
function of the s t a t e .

BALEEN LS,
MB A.D.

23S ArD.

' The Senate h a s t i l y appointed Balbinus

and Pupienus as j o i n t emperors. Both men were
e l d e r l y , and thus they adopted the. son of
Gordian I I , who was too young t o r u l e j u s t
yet, but h i s t o r y would know him as Gordian IXT
GORnlAW i .
AFU1CANU5.
33B A C

G O T t D I A N IT,
AF1UCANUS.
235 A,n,

The c o n f i s c a t i o n of wealth by Maximinus

led t o a c o l l a p s e i n economic a c t i v i t y . He had
f a i l e d to r e a l i z e t h a t the " r i c h " created the
jobs and provided the progress just as Adam
Smith (1723-1790) would e x p l a i n i n h i s Wealth
of rations published i n 1776. The economy was
s t a r t i n q to implode and i n f l a t i o n began t o
soar also due to black markets.

The Senate had p e t i t i o n e d Gordian to

accept the o f f i c e o f emperor and t o defend
the Senate, He appointed his son Gordian II
with him, hut the governor o f Mauritania
(North A f r i c a ) marched against them k i l l i n g
them on J u l y 3rd, 238 AD, with a short r e i g n

11

Pupienus had. the m i l i t a r y experience

so he moved t o prepare f o r b a t t l e at t h e
northern c i t y i n I t a l y o f Ravenna. However,
the f i r s t c i t y reached by Maximinus was
that o f A q u i l e i a , a w e l l f o r t i f i e d c i t y ,
but i t lacked a huge p r o f e s s i o n a l army. I t
i s reported t h a t the women o f A q u i l e i a cut
o f f t h e i r h a i r t o create bow-strings t o
defend the c i t y .
The surrounding land had been scorched
to r o t ^toximinus o f s u p p l i e s . The c i t y could
withstand the s i e g e f o r they even had f r e s h
water i n s i d e the w a l l s , itoximirius attacked
most l i k e l y assuming s u p e r i o r i t y . But he was
to be s u r p r i s e d by the common c i t i z e n v a l o r .
In Rome i t s e l f , i t was a d i f f e r e n t view
altogether. The c i t y turned t o panic both
i n v o l v i n g the c i t i z e n s as w e l l as the troops
s t a t i o n e d there. Balbinus was confronted
with a wholesale r i o t t h a t l e f t the c i t y i n
r u i n - H i s t o r i a Augusta informs us t h a t the
emperor Balhi mis had i s s u e d "a thousnad edi c t s " commanding t h a t order be r e s t o r e d , but
no one l i s t e n e d . The populace stormed the
palace guards {Praetorian Camp) and because
of the p o l i c i e s o f Maxiininus c o n f i s c a t i n g
wealth, there was widespread l o o t i n g and
murder. Many " r i c h * who were h i d i n g wealth,
l o s t both t h e i r l i v e s and whatever l a s t
remaining hidden wealth.
1

To the shock o f many, Iteximinus wus

defeated by the c i t i z e n s of A q u i l e i a alone.
Pupienus had not even a r r i v e d . A f t e r a l l ,
Pupienus l i v e d i n f e a r o f Maxjntinus and
r e f e r r e d t o him as a "Cyelopem" (Cyclops),
i n s o f a r as s t a t u r e , r u t h l e s s n e s s , and t h e
sheer t e r r o r he i n s t i l l e d i n those he faced.
The Senate had sent c o u r i e r s t o a l l the
provinces announcing! not o n l y t h e i r judgment
t h a t he was a p u b l i c enemy, but t h a t any
person g i v i n g him a i d would be regarded as
part o f h i s conspiracy against the people o f
Rone. Perhaps t h i s had e f f e c t . For upon the
m i l i t a r y defeat before the w a l l s o f A q u i l e i a
manned by the c i t i z e n r y , the dishonor was
devastating t o a p r o f e s s i o n a l army. Thus,
h i s own men entered h i s t e n t , murdered him,
and sent h i s head t o Rome t o demonstrate
t h e i r new l o y a l i t y .
The r i o t s i n Rome ceased- Order was now
returning. Balbinus, however, liad new even

held an extraordinary thanks t o the gods. He

ordered a r a r e event known as a hecatomb where
100 a l t a r s are constructed i n one place, and
on each a p i g , sheep, and a l i o n were t o be
s a c r i f i c e d along w i t h an eagle and various
other types o f animals. This thanksgiving was
a very r a r e event Indeed.
Nevertheless, Balbinus resented the f a c t
t h a t Pupienus returned with h i s army i n t a c t
and never saw b a t t l e , when he had t o d e a l w i t h
a major c i v i l unrest and the near c o l l a p s e o f
Rome i t s e l f . This created s t r e s s between the
two eirperors, w i t h a
v i s i b l e separation.
However, t h i s was minor i n comparison t o the
true nature o f the events. The Senate had now
e l e c t e d the emperors, not the m i l i t a r y . And,
t h e i r speech o f deliverance had fueled the
deeply f e l t l o s s o f power among the s o l d i e r s .
The Senate speech recorded by the H i s t o r i a
Augusta i l l u s t r a t e d the power s t r u g g l e t h a t
was brewing.
" So f a r e emperors w i s e l y rfiosen,
so p e r i s h emperors tJiosen by f o o l s . "
Those words may not have been intended
to i n s u l t the s o l d i e r s , but they most c e r t a i n l y
bad t h a t e f f e c t . As soon as the opportunity
presented i t s e l f , a band o f s o l d i e r s took the
palace and s t r i p p e d the emperors o f t h e i r f i n e
garments and dragged them through the c i t y t o
t o r t u r e them and k i l l them i n the s t y l e o f no
doubt Maximinus. liowever, they knew the German
guard was coming and so they murdered them w i t h
no prolonged t o r t u r e .

GORDIAN m
(238-244 A.DJ,

The young Gordian H I was h a i l e d as t h e

new emperor and he was taken t o the Senate.
A few s o l d i e r s now stormed the Senate and were
struck down f o r a l l senators were now armed.
I t appeared a new c i v i l war would break out
over who had the r i g h t t o announce an emperor.
Once the s o l d i e r s learned that Gordian H I
would r u l e alone, they backed down.

12

I t i a t r u e that Gordian I I I wes very

young and the contemporary h i s t o r i a n s s a i d
he was e i t h e r 13 o r 16 when he took the
throne. He took a w i f e , the daughter o f
a very respect e r u d i t e man, Timesitheus.
He gave gocd counsel and Historia Augusta
records even l e t t e r s between the two.

of the 3rd Century, was a l s o caused by a

s i g n i f i c a n t famine. J u s t as weather had
prolonged the Great Depression o f the 1930s
with a 7 year drought, we a l s o f i n d t h a t the
n a t u r a l events taking p l a c e c l e a r l y a l s o had
a contributing effect t o history.
There was a major r e v o l t that erupted
i n North A f r i c a i n 240AD. However, t h i s was
promptly suppressed. I n 242AD, Gordian I I I
was convinced t h a t i t was time t o launch a
campaiga against the Persians with promise
of g o l d . He went w i t h t h e army, and t h a t
proved t o be h i s undoing.

"To my i m p e r i a l son and Augustus,

from Timesitheus, h i s p r e f e c t and
father-in-law. One serious scandal
of our age we have escaped; the
scandal, 1 mean, t h a t eunuch? and
those who pretend to be your f r i e n d s
(though r e a l l y they are your worst
enemies) arrange a l l things f o r
money. ..."
Gnniian I I I seems to have shown great
promise, and we capture a glimpse i n t o h i s
soul through h i s response.
"From the Bflperor Gordian Augustus to
Timesitheus,- h i s father-in-law and
prefect, Mere i t not that the mighty
gcds watch over the Ecman Bnpire,
even now we should be s o l d by bought
eunuchs as though under the hammer,
,.. but new, the gcds be thanked, I
have learned frcm suggestions by you
who are incoi^uptible, what I could
not know by myself.
I should

The o f f i c e o f P r a e t o r i a n prefect who

was charged w i t h p r o t e c t i n g the enrxiror, had
conspired t o have him murdered, and t o then
s e i z e the throne f o r himself. This new and
determined contender i s known t o h i s t o r y as
H i i l i p I (*^Arab )(244-249AD), He was
bom a l s o on the f r i n g e o f the Empire i n
A r a b i a , who was claimed t o have been the son
of a bandit c h i e f . He rose through the ranks
but became the Praetorian p r e f e c t only i n
the midst o f tha P e r s i a n campaign,

l i k e you t o hear a t r u e t h i n g : wretched i s ah emperor before whom men

do not speak out the t r u t h , f o r since
he himself cannot walk out among the
people he can only hear things, and
then b e l i e v e e i t h e r what he has heard
or what the majority have corroborated."

,,

Gordian IXC's r e i g n i s s a i d t o have

been doomed f o r there was a great omen.
[T]here occurred an e c l i p s e o f the sun, so
black that men thought i t was night and
business could not be transacted without
the a i d o f l a n t e r n s . " Historia Augusta.

P h i l i p 1 i s a t t r i b u t e d w i t h ignominious
peace w i t h the Persians s o he could go back
to Rome i n s t y l e . I t was during h i s short
r e i g n t h a t we f i n d s p e c i a l coinage he ordered
t o be issued t o celebrate tha 1,000th year
of the founding o f Home, i n 248 AD.

Another natural event i s recorded. I t

i s reported t h a t there was a period with a
major earthquake "so severe that the whole
c i t i e s w i t h a l l t h e i r inhabitants disappeared i n the opening o f the ground. Vast
s a c r i f i c e s were o f f e r e d through the e n t i r e
c i t y and the e n t i r e world because of t h i s , "
Historia Augusta. The i n t e r e s t i n g aspect
of t h i s i s t h a t the great monetary c r i s i s

A r e b e l l i o n broke-out i n
sfffi^jk^
249AD l e d by Trajan DecrLus and M'^ V^\
P h i l i p departed t o meet t h i s fll JpVjT M
new challenger. He was e i t h e r
Wni^S w
defeated i n b a t t l e , o r was most ^ J l g ^
l i k e l y murdered by h i s own guards, f o r upon h i s death, they

immediately executed h i s son

^
Philip II.

( a 4 +

13

A J

What was unfolding was a double-edge

sword, a d e f l a t i o n caused by the d e s t r u c t i o n
of the c a p i t a l formation c r e a t i n g a f u l l debt
c r i s i s , but a t the same time, a r i s e i n the
"cost" o f doing business that i s r e l e c t e d i n
the I n f l a t i o n o f p r i c e s . As the c a p i t a l format i o n implodes, c a p i t a l becomes scarce, but a
r i s e the value o f t a n g i b l e assets unfolds.

TRAJAN DECIUS,
(249-251 A.Q.J,

Trajan Decius (249-251AD) was horn i n

Lower Pannonia ( B a l k i n s ) . He was a general
under P h i l i p I holding the legions on the
Danuba r i v e r . A r e b e l l i o n broke out among
the troops i n Moesia, and P h i l i p dispatched
Decius t o d e a l w i t h the problem. I t was
s a i d t h a t the rebels forced Decius t o now
declare himself emperor under p a i n o f death
and t o march upon I t a l y .
There i s l i t t l e doubt t h a t the events
of so many emperors being k i l l e d by t h e i r
own troops and i n r a t h e r short order, had
a devastating impact upon both s o c i e t y and
those who reached f o r such power. I t had
destroyed the bond between the people and
the emperor and the Senate was reduced t o
an i r r e l e v a n t body, powerless but t o j u s t
accept the next contender i n l i n e .

I t I s the reign of Decius t h a t we now

s t a r t t o see why the r e b e l l i o n was unfolding
and the troops were s t a r t i n g t o c o n t r o l the
events r a t h e r than the raw power of j u s t a
usurper seeking g l o r y . The coinage r e f l e c t s
a r a t i o of greater than 10:7 production o f
the double denarius r e l a t i v e t o the denarius.
However, t h i s i n f l a t i o n i n p r i c e s , depreciat i o n o f purchasing power of currency, now
i s r e f l e c t e d i n the bronze currency. Now we
" see appearing a double s e s t e r t i u s , t h a t i s
l e s s i n s i z e and weight o f the same denominat i o n that was premised i n payment back i n
193 by D i d i u s J u l i a n a s - 25,000 s e s t e r t i i
per man t o make him emperor. .In l e s s than
one generation (60 years), i n f l a t i o n j u s t by
the waight of the coinage, was a t l e a s t 200%.

T h i s r e b e l l i o n o f 249 was indeed one

of the s o l d i e r s - They selected a t f i r s t
Marinas as the new o b j e c t o f power. What
P h i l i p feared most, t h a t by h i s own manner
and example, he encouraged others bo t r y
for t h a t brass r i n g of power.

These i n t e r n a l disputes had weakened the

empire i n a d d i t i o n t o the economic d e c l i n e .
I t was i n 250AD that Decius faced the s t a r t
of an i n v a s i o n o f t h e Goths who would be very
p e r s i s t e n t and eventually would sack pome
i t s a i f , and would overrun Gaul, Spain, and
I t a l y . Perhaps t h i s I s why one w i l l s t i l l
encounter blond-hlue-eyed Northern I t a l i a n s .
The Goths were Scandinavians.

The Empire was s t a r t i n g t o come apart

and Decius was a man of great respect. He
perhaps stepped forward t o crush t h i s new
r e b e l l i o n , not f o r the sake o f P h i l i p , but
for the chance t o save the n a t i o n . When
Decius marched against Marinus, he was
q u i c k l y murdered by h i s own troops.

In 250AD, the Goths had invaded the area

known as I l l y r i a (the B a l k i n g ) . Decius moved
against them, and at f i r s t appeared t o have
won an amazing v i c t o r y . The Goths would have
been eager j u s t t o r e t r e a t , but Decius took
the p o s i t i o n that he liad t o a n n i h i l a t e them
t o send a message t o prevent more i n v a s i o n s .
When i t appeared the Goths were about t o be
destroyed and r e t r e a t e d , the Romans advanced
but became trapped i n bogs. Decius himself
was k i l l e d .

Economically, the Empire was s t a r t i n g

to implode. There had been l i t t l e recovery
a f t e r the wholesale c o n f i s c a t i o n of wealth
under rtaximdnus, f o r t h i s had bean a blow
to the productive capacity and c a p i t a l f o r mation of the Foman economy.
The coinage o f Home began t o s t a r t t o
r e f l e c t the s i g n i f i c a n t r i s e i n i n f l a t i o n ,
Not merely had the denarius been replaced
by the antoninianus under P h i l i p that was
d i s t i n g u i s h e d by a r a d i a t e crown l i k e the
statue of L i b e r t y r e f l e c t i n g sun rays, but
the s i z e and weight began t o d e c l i n e . What
s i l v e r once represented a denarius, was now
a double denarius.

TOCPONIANUS
OALLUS
1*354

A l o y a l general was selected by the army

and r a t i f i e d by the senate. Tetcniarius C a l l u s
(251-254AD), His f i r s t a c t was to enter a new

14

peace treaty, w i t h the Goths, but the terms

were so shameful, i t encouraged others t o
now invade. I t became l i k e the movie o f
Peter S e l l e r s - The Jfcuse t h a t Roared, f o r
here was a bankrupt l i t t l e s t a t e that would
d e c l a r e war on t h e u n i t e d States f o r t h e
s o l e purpose o f g e t t i n g a i d , such a s the
Marshall Plan i n World War I I and I r a q
today.
HQSTOUN.

What i n s p i r e d these barbarians yet made

them so f e a r l e s s , was t h e i r r e l i g i o u s b e l i e f .
They b e l i e v e d i n r e i n c a r n a t i o n so t o d i e i n
b a t t l e was a insurance p o l i c y t o come r i g h t
back. They believed i n the god o f war, the
god of thunder, and the goddess of generation.
They believed i n a c y c l e o f nine that indeed
required great f e s t i v a l s . Much of t h e i r true
mystery i s i n the Edda and the image of Odin
k i l l e d himself by i n f l i c t i n g 3 wounds so he
would avoid the degeneration of o l d age.

Al'AULtAN.
(153-254 A,D.J,

G a l l u s d i d the honorable t h i n g and

had appointed Decius one s u r v i v i n g son
a co-emperor, B o s t i l i a n (251AD), But he
d i d not s u r v i v e , f o r he d i e d o f plague
t h a t began t o emerge i n the Bopire. He
a l s o made h i s cwn son Volusian (252-54AD)
another co-emperor.
1

The ignominious t r e a t y of Gallus was h i s

undoing. For he did not r e a l i z e t h a t buying
off one t r i b e , not o n l y encouraged a l l others,
but i t was a sign of great weakness* New t r i b e s
invaded the I l l y r i a ( B a l k i n s ) , A e m i l i a n was
the governor of Pannonia and Moesia. As t h a t
region came under i n v a s i o n again, ha r a l l i e d
the troops and beat back the hoards. The men
h a i l e d him as emperor and then set out t o
march upon Rome t o get r i d of Gallus. i n what
had become common p r a c t i c e , as Gallus now
marched t o face t h i s r e b e l Aemilian, he was
murdered by h i s own troops along w i t h h i s son
Volusion, and of course the Senate recognized
Aemilian (253-254AD) as emperor.

Decius r e f l e c t e d upon the Empire and

r e a l i z e d t h a t the very moral f a b r i c , o f
s o c i e t y . He r e a l i z e d t h a t corruption was
every place and r e s t o r i n g the empire would
not be p o s s i b l e without r e s t o r i n g e t h i c s .
The o l d p o s i t i o n o f "censor" was i n the
days of Augustus the person who would make
sure that s o c i e t y would be honorable. This
i s the p e r i o d when O v i d was sent i n t o his
e x i l e f o r advocating pleasure that created
a "fiDs age o f f r e e l o v e . So pervasive was
t h i s view, that the Bnperor Augustus had
h i s own daughter sent i n t o e x i l e f o r her
sexual e x p l o i t s .

G a l l u s had summoned V a l e r i a n who was the

honored censor t o b r i n g t o h i s def ense the
legions o f Gaul and Germany t o defend against
Aemilian. Ha a r r i v e d too l a t e . As the troops
o f A e m i l i a n were camped on the p l a i n s of the
Spoleto, they were new impressed by the censor
V a l e r i a n , and again showing t h e i r detachment
from emperors, murdered Aemilian i n August
253AD.

Decius appointed* a man who would yet

become a f u t u r e emperor himself. V a l e r i a n
to r e s t o r e e t h i c s t o the Roman S o c i e t y . He
became the new Czar o f Rare determined t o
banish c o r r u p t i o n .
1

G a l l u s ignominious peace t r e a t y d i d
encourage f u t u r e invasions and hastened
the c o l l a p s e of the 3rd Century. He thus
allowed the Goths t o r e t a i n the f r u i t s of
t h e i r conquest, an immense booty, and he
allowed them t o take t h e i r Roman prisoners
as slaves. He supplied the Goths w i t h
every conveniency they demanded, praying
for t h e i r quick departure. He then agreed
to pay them an annual sum of gold not t o
ever again invade. Instead of buying the
peace, i t s i g n a l l e d t o every other t r i b e
to invade t o gain regular t r i b u t e ,
tolliis
exposed both the weakness and wealth of
Rare.

UHAK1US
ANTONINUS,

The coinage a l s o preserves yet another

claimant t o the throne i n 253AD r i s i n g i n the
East. He i s known from h i s coinage as uranius
Antoninus who Issued coins from the S y r i a n
mint. But he too appears t o have been simply
murdered by h i s own troops a f t e r i s s u i n g g o l d
coins and Billon Tetradrachms, meaning v a s t l y
debased s i l v e r content about 20-30%.
15

Perhaps because o f the igrsmiriious

peace t r e a t y o f G a l l u s t h a t i s a k i n to the
American p o l i c y o f j u s t handing out v a s t
sums o f f o r e i g n a i d t o t r y to buy l o y a l i t y ,
the gold coinage o f Home had been l a r g e l y
f r e e f r o n debasement. Nevertheless, i t i s
during h i s r e i g n (251-254AD) t h a t we begin
to see a new demonination appear, Double
Aureus that i s d i s t i n g u i s h e d by p i c t u r i n g
the emperor w i t h the r a d i a t e crown, the
same spikes o f rays o f sun l i g h t 'around the
head l i k e the Statue o f L i b e r t y . We a l s o
see the emergence o f a gold h a l f aureus
known as a q i n a r i u s . We f i n d no s i l v e r
denarius whatsoever, only the Double Denari u s known as the iteftoninianus.

VALERIAN.

V a l e r i a n (254-260AD) presides over the

beginning o f the complete c o l l a p s e o f the
Roman monetary system. Upon the murder o f
Aemilian, he himself i s h a i l e d emperor by
the army and he r a i s e s h i s son Gallienus
(254-268AD) who reigns w i t h h i s f a t h e r f o r
almost 6 years.
Rome became now preoccupied w i t h the
constant t h r e a t s o f barbarian invasions t o
get bought o f f l i k e the Goths. Valerian was
about 60 years o l d when, he assumed the
purple ( o f f i c e o f emperor). Being the censor
i n the mind o f the people, he came t o that
o f f i c e w i t h the image o f d i g n i t y and t r u e
i n c o r r u p t i b i l i t y . Perhaps i n a l a s t e p i c
o f hope triumphing over r e a l i t y , Valerian
had perhaps the highest p o l l r a t i n g s i f
there were such a t h i n g t h a t proved t o be
the prelude t o d i s a s t e r .
Rome was now being attacked on nearly
every f r o n t by the Alemaimi, the Franks, the
Goths again, and the Persians, The Franks
penetrated r i g h t through spa i n , s e i z e d the
ships, and s a i l e d t o invade Worth A f r i c a .
The Alemanni ( " a l l men") avanced i n t o I t a l y
and G a l l i e n u s was f i g h t i n g on the Rhine and
h i s f a t h e r t r a v e l e d t o the East t o confront
the Persians. The Senate f i n a l l y awoke and
r a i s e d an army t h a t outnumbered the Alemanni
who were Germans, and they r e t r e a t e d upon
such a s i g h t .
..
:

The mistake o f G a l l u s and h i s simple

ignominious peace t r e a t y v i r t u a l l y destroyed
Rome, The Marxist ideas o f Maxinrinius t o
s e i z e a l l wealth and r u i n the r i c h , had so
s i g n i f i c a n t l y undermined the c a p i t a l format i o n , t h a t the W a t e r f a l l E f f e c t was taking
hold.
The coinage o f Rome began to be debased
s i g n i f i c a n t l y w i t h l e s s and l e s s s i l v e r per
c o i n t o increase the quantity o f money t o
pay f o r everything on every f r o n t . As massive
barbarian invasions on a l l f r o n t s were t a k i n g
place, t h i s destroyed the tax revenues from
the provinces. I t was as i f the s t a t e s a l l
went bust i n the United States. There was no
*f' a b i l i t y t o p r i n t paper money, so they reduced
the precious metal content t o increase the
sheer number o f coins minted.

Shapur I (241-272AD)

The worst t h a t could happen, d i d happen.

Valerian was defeated by the Persians. He
was captured a l i v e . The P e r s i a n king had even
changed the t i t l e on h i s coins from King o f
Persian k i n g s , t o king o f a l l kings. The c o l d
war t h a t had raged f o r centuries between t h i s
eastern P a r t h i a n Empire and Rome was f a r from
over, but a t t h a t time. Valerian was kept
a l i v e , made to wear the purple, and bend over
t o be used as a f o o t - s t o o l .
The Romans were reminded o f the p l i g h t o f
Valerian, but could do nothing. His own son,
seemed r e l i e v e d t o r u l e alone f r e e from h i s
father's demands o f e t h i c s as a censor. He
i s said to have commented: " I knew that my
f a t h e r was a mortal, and since he has acted
as i t becomes a brave man, I am satisfied.
Upon h i s death, Valerian was then s t u f f e d
and displayed as a trophy.
11

This was the l a s t straw. The Roman

monetary system simply iimplcded and as
f a t e would have i t , the worst i n d i f f e r e n t
emperor Gallienus, was a t the helm.

parts copper t o 1 p a r t s i l v e r . In e f f e c t ,
even the bronze coinage i s reduced g r e a t l y
and s t a r t s t o disappear from c i r c u l a t i o n
as d i d the o l d s i l v e r coinage.
G a l l i e n u s furthered the d e s t r u c t i o n
of the Roman people by h i s c r u e l p o l i c i e s .
In I l l y r i e u m , a r e b e l l i o n arose under the
leadership of Imjeouus. He ordered not
only the punishment of the troops t h a t took
up arms against him, but he ordered the
death of a l l males w i t h the exception of
c h i l d r e n and o l d men. Some usurpers were
forced i n t o t r e a t i e s themselves with the
barbarian hoards, purchasing peace a t vast
expense of t r i b u t e .

H i s t o r y i s v i t a l t o our s u r v i v a l since
i t contains e m p i r i c a l evidence o f mankind's
triumphs, f o l l i e s , and u t t e r mistakes that
should never be repeated. What l e d t o t h i s
period should never be f o r g o t ton.

This period was unsettled by numerous

earthquakes, premature darkness, meteors,
yet the worse was famine. L i k e the 1930s,
here t o o t h e i r were wholesale crop f a i l u r e s
and a large s c a l e famine, that was nonethel e s s caused here by both n a t u r a l events and
constant war. I t was reported t h a t 5,000
persons were d y i n g every day i n Rome i t s e l f .
I t was s a i d t h a t many towns became depopulated entirely.

As the provinces were overrun, taxes

c o l l a p s e d . There were no l e s s than some 19
pretenders t o the throne, but the econom/
was so bad, they could no longer r a i s e the
money t o wage war. The coinage imploded
and we see emerge more-or-less what we went
through i n 1965 when we removed s i l v e r from
t h e coinage. We t r i e d to. pretend t h e dime
and the quarter were s t i l l a s i l v e r - l i k e c o l o r
and invented a c o i n w i t h a copper center and
a nickel shell.

We do have s u r v i v i n g records from tha

c i t y o f Alexandria i n Egypt t h a t recorded
the b i r t h and death f o r c i t i z e n s f o r r e c e i p t
of corn (welfare). I t recorded t h a t between
the ages o f 40 and 70, about 50% had died
from t h i s p e s t i l e n c e of plague and famine.

The coinage o f t h i s period f e l l i n

s i l v e r content w i t h i n c r e d i b l e speed. To
pretend t h e c o i n s were s i l v e r , they created
a s i l v e r wash or p l a t i n g , t h a t q u i c k l y wore
o f f l e a v i n g bronze c o i n s pretending t o now
be s i l v e r . We see the same p a t t e r n of debasement taking p l a c e i n the 1960s as took p l a c e
during the 3rd Century. In f a c t , by the
r e i g n o f AureJLlan (270-275AD), the s i l v e r
wash becomes standard and we f i n d the mark
" X X L " symbolizing t h a t the coins do c o n t a i n
some s i l v e r mined w i t h copper a t 20 p a r t s

Money became both debased removing a l l

s i l v e r and then I t dropped i n s i z e and i n
weight. As i l l u s t r a t e d below, the standard
antoninianus declined i n s i z e and weight
by n e a r l y 2/3rds between 249 and 270AD. I t
got so bad, money could buy almost nothing
and the s t a t e resorted t o c o l l e c t i n g taxes
i n kind taking l i v e s t o c k t o feed the army.
Money was worth 1 /50th o f what i t was i n 249.

: Trajan Decius Aemilian

Quintillus
Gallierms
(249-251 AD)
(2S3-54AD) (253^f.aAD)
(270 AD)

IT

essons o f the past do i n f a c t provide the s o l u t i o n s f o r t h e f u t u r e . We can see

t h a t the c o n f i s c a t i o n o f wealth destroyed the c a p i t a l formation under Wayi.nri.ous
and t h a t set i n motion the d e s t r u c t i o n o f Rome i t s e l f . The i n t e r n a l c o r r u p t i o n
of the Rule o f Law ended investment and economic expansion. J u s t as we now see
a 39% c o n v i c t i o n rate i n f e d e r a l courts o f the u n i t e d States because judges w i l l
only r u l e i n favor o f the s t a t e and the Supreme Court claims i t has d i s c r e t i o n
to even l i s t e n t o a c i t i z e n , we have matched what H i s t o r i a Augusta had t o say about the
worst t y r a n t i n the h i s t r o y o f Rome, Maximinius "condemned a l l whoever came t o t r i a l " and
now we are a l s o a t t a c k i n g the " r i c h with the Intent that they w i l l "reduce[] the r i c h e s t
men t o u t t e r poverty." And as f o r our squandering o f wealth i n obsure overseas ventures
that do nothing f o r the domestic enlightenment o f s o c i e t y , the words o f C i c e r o come t o
mind when he stood before the Senate o f Rome more t h a t 200 years p r e v i o u s l y warning that
the d e s t r u c t i o n o f Rome would come:
11

The budget should be balanced, the Treasury

should be r e f i l l e d , p u b l i c debt should be reduced,
the arrogance o f o f f i c i a l d o m should be tenpared and c o n t r o l l e d ,
and the a s s i s t a n c e t o f o r e i g n lands should be c u r t a i l e d
l e s t Rome become bankrupt.
People must again l e a r n bo work, stead o f l i v i n g on p u b l i c a s s i s t a n c e .
C i c e r o , c a 55BC
The M=ii--ast-sccialist-progrnssivea
w i l l scream a t t h i s and c a l l i t only pure
d i s c r e d i t e d Republicanism. What they are
r e a l l y doing i s a t t a c k i n g the messenger
and not addressing the subject-matter. I t
would be n i c e t o show j u s t one e m p i r i c a l
example from h i s t o r y where t h e i r ideas
were ever successful.and d i d not destroy
s o c i e t y , I have looked f o r j u s t one p l a i n
example, and can f i n d nothing.

I have o b j e c t i v e l y t r i e d t o f i n d seme
evidence o f Marxism a c t u a l l y working: over
the complete s e t o f 6,000 years o f h i s t o r y .
I can f i n d nothing t h a t ever worked and i n
a l l cases, i t ended i n sheer d i s a s t e r . I
i n v i t e anyone t o c i t e such an instance i f
they can. China and Russia both c o l l a p s e d
because the "free markets" p r e v a i l e d meaning
that the attempt t o c o n t r o l the economy l e d
to i t s economic s t a r v a t i o n o f innovation t h a t
creates the future.

A lawyer f i l e d a l a w s u i t against the

a p p e l l a t e judges o f the Second C i r c u i t i n
the Supreme Court,fieshewed empirical
evidence that the f e d e r a l judges today
s t a r t w i t h the r e s u l t , and then p l a y with
the law t o reach that point. That i s what
Judge Sotomayor s a i d t h a t a p p e l l a t e judges
make"'policy" and she t r i e d t o c l a i m she
meant the p o l i c y o f precedent. Judges no
more judge independently and pronounce
the law than a prosecutor. I t i s a l l one
giant joke t o f u r t h e r government power.
This Is the same way p o l i t i c i a n s a c t .
They do not l i s t e n anymore than federal
judges. They presume a p o s i t i o n , and then
attack the messenger.

The lethal combination o f the s t a t e

always t r y i n g t o spend more than i t has t h a t
began with the debasement o f the s i l v e r coins
o f Nero, set i n motion a perpetual scheme t o
p r i n t money c r e a t i n g i n f l a t i o n , p r o p e l l e d by
Maximinus c o n f i s c a t i o n o f wealth and the
abuse o f conspiracy destroyed the core c a p i t a l
formation by d i v e s t i n g the " r i c h " o f c a p i t a l
t h a t prevented economic innovation and s e t i n
motion the economic Implosion and hoarding o f
c a p i t a l , Which wassealed by the squandering
o f the n a t i o n a l wealth by the payments t o
f o r e i g n lands under the theory i t would buy
p o l i t i c a l s t a b i l i t y . As Lady Margaret Thatcher
s a i d ; S o c i a l i s m works u n t i l you run out o f
other people's money.
1

the Governor o f Gaul (France) under the

Emperor v a l e r i a n . C i v i l unrest broke out
i n Gaul. The threat o f barbarians and the
c o l l a p s e on the monetary system as w e l l a s
disease and famine, a l l combined together
to e f f e c t i v e l y say enough was enough.

M A C H I A N U S II,

The c i t i z e n s o f Gaul supported Postumus

who c e r t a i n l y from an. economic viewpoint,
had l i t t l e choice/ While some have argued
he usurped power as j u s t another pretender,
those words l a c k substance. Postumus showed
no such ambition t o d i s p l a c e the emperor,
but t o a s s e r t independence t o defend h i s
province against a l l , barbarian and Roman
alike.

IETUS.
M l An.).

HKGALTA-VL'S
f? 260-261).

Can economic s t r e s s b r i n g about the

separation of a nation along the same l i n e s
t h a t i t had been fcciead? The answer i s a
d e f i n i t i v e YES1 This means we a r e s t a r t i n g
to see movements form t o secede i n the o l d
south. This i s e n t i r e l y normal and w i l l i n
f a c t always f o l l o w t h a t pattern.
When Russia f e l l a p a r t , we saw t h e
s o v i e t s t a t e s iminsdiately move f o r t h e i r v.
independence. The Soviet Union was exposed
to have been a group o f s t a t e s held bound -
to each other by f o r c e . Vet we can say the
same about the United States f o l l o w i n g t h e
C i v i l War. The South f e l t very much t h a t
they, were compelled t o be American under
the force of arms.

POSTUMUS.
(2S9-2A7 A.DO-

I f we look throughout h i s t o r y , we see

the same i d e n t i c a l patterns. The Jewish
r e v o l t under Vespasian where the Temple was
again
destroyed as was the l a s t stand a t
Masada, took place upon Nero's death and
the uncertainty who would r u l e i f anyoneJudaea had been a Roman s t a t e by f o r c e . And
here j u s t above, i s a c o i n o f Postumus
(259-267AD). With the economic implosion,
what we f i n d i s not a usurper w i t h designs
to d i s p l a c i n g G a l l i e n u s as emperor o f a l l
of Borne, but t o a l l o w Prance t o break away
for the f i r s t time since i t was conquered
by J u l i u s Caesar, n e a r l y 320 years before.
E s s e n t i a l l y , i t took about P i x 100 years
31d years,

what we have here i s t h a t - t h i s region

seceded from the Roman Empire and thus we
have not j u s t France, but B r i t a i n as w e l l
forming a new separate n a t i o n , Tt i s indeed a
f a c t a testament t o the economic s t r e s s o f
the times t h a t i s r e f l e c t e d i n the duration
of t h i s separate independence movement 259 t o 273AD (14 y e a r s ) .
I.,A E L I A N U S

Eventually, Postumus himself had t o

face i n t e r n a l usurpers. Tn 267AD, we f i n d
a usurper w i t h i n t h i s new F r e n c h / B r i t i s h
s t a t e , Leelianus 1267M>) defeated Postumus
but he himself was i n f a c t murdered by h i s own
troops when the co-eattperor was preparing
t o move against him,
vreTOnrNT_-s.

Postumus had r a i s e d v i c t o r i n u s t o be
h i s co-emperor- With the murder o f the new
pretender Iaelianug i n 267&D, V i c t o r i n u s
(265-270AD) r u l e d t h i s new s t a t e alone.

M A REUS.
<2A8 AJJ.).

We f i n d t h a t t h i s m i l i t a r y usurpation
of power was a l s o present s t i l l i n t h i s new
s t a r e , i n 26AAD, Marius moved t o s e i z e h i s
power. H i s coins are rare, b u t many argue
h i s r e i g n l a s t e d l e s s than 1 week.

Postumus had been a l o y a l and very

d i s t i n g u i s h e d s o l d i e r who was a t the time
19

TETRICUS 1

AURELfAN.
(370-275

( , 37Q-273 A.0 ).

The s o l d i e r s assumed i t was now t h e i r

r i g h t t o murder an emperor whenever they
disagreed. I t i s c l e a r t h a t the coinage o f
t h i s new s t a t e was much more s t a b l e than
t h a t o f Rome, Nevertheless, f o r whatever
reason, V i c t o r inus was murdered by h i s own
guard. I t was h i s mother, V i c t o r i a , who
convinced the then. Governor o f Gaul t o step
up, and she declared him emperor. This new
emparot o f Gaul was T e t r i c u s I (270-73AD).

TETltlCTJS

A u r e l i a n f 27Q-275ADjwas declared t o foe

emperor a t Sirmium by the troops upon the
death o f Claudius from the plague. Indeed,
evidence o f the great economic s t r e s s of the
p e r i o d i s r e f l e c t e d both i n the coinage
reform o f A u r e l i a n as w e l l as h i s e f f o r t s
to f o r t i f y a g a i n s t the barbarian invasions.

1J-

(c. 2 7 0 - 2 7 3 A D,)-

AinBiiBi i Vln il. near ihn

He appointed h i s son as Caesar, and

thus h e i r t o the new throne o f Gaul. Yet
Tetricu3 I I never made i t t o the p o i n t o f
being r a i s e d t o a co-emperor s t a t u s o f
Augustus,

San pudo, Porno

A u r e l i a n constructed a w a l l around the

C i t y o f Fame i t s e l f t h a t had 16 gates, 12.5
m i l e s (20 km) i n length, was 13 f t t h i c k (4m)
and stood 24 f e e t h i g h t7.2m>. They were
l a t e r r a i s e d t o 35 f e e t d u r i n g the r e i g n o f
Honorius (393-423AD) and r e i n f o r c e d w i t h
totters as shown above, 380 i n t o t a l t h a t had
stood 100 f e e t high (30m), Much o f t h i s w a l l
s t i l l stands today as a d i r e c t e m p i r i c a l
evidence to the u n c e r t a i n t y o f the e r a .

C L A U D rus 1L

GOTjncus,

Back i n the Etonian Empire, G a l l i e n u s

was assassinated and one o f the leaders
o f the p l o t then became emperor i n 268,
Claudius I I Gothicus (76B-270AD). He was
s u c c e s s f u l i n d e f e a t i n g an immense Gothic
army that invaded Greece, f o r which he was
given the t i t l e "Gothicus" yet he d i e d o f
the plague a t Sirmium i n 270AD.

A u r e l i a n was k i n d o f the Ronald Reagan

i n s o f a r as he sought t o r e c l a i m the d i g n i t y
o f the Empire. He faced the Goths (Scandinavians) who i n l a t e r centuries would be the
V i k i n g s , the vandals o f North A f r i c a t h a t
r e s i d e d i n the general area o f the o l d Carthage w i t h the resentment o f the Punic Wars,
and the Alemanni (Germanic cousins o f GothsK
However, the Reaganism i s perhaps r e f l e c t e d
i n h i s determination t o retake the new Gaul
Qnpire.

QUTNTTLLU5-

(270 A.tJ.).

With A u r e l i a n determined t o now retake

Gaul, i t became c l e a r t h a t h i s r e s t o r e d
army, economy, and suppression of the barbari a n hoards, T e t r i c u s I seems t o have had no
stomach f o r a war. Instead, they negotiated
h i s a b d i c a t i o n w i t h A u r e l i a n , who agreed t o
a l l o w T e t r i c u s and h i s son r e t i r e i n Rome
and was honored by A u r e l i a n and h i s successors.

The legions a t A q u i l e i a declared as

emperor G u i n t i l l u s (270AD) who was the
brother o f Claudius- However, the legions
at Sirmium declared A u r e l i a n as emperor
and s i n c e the l a t e r had the l a r g e r f o r c e
and the b e t t e r r e p u t a t i o n , Q o i n t i l l u s was
arjandoned by h i s troops and. he committed
aucicide.
20

BARBAROUS RRDIATES
One o f the t a c t i c s o f war has always
been the use o f c o u n t e r f e i t money i n hopes
of undermining your r i v a l ' s economy. The
B r i t i s h c o u n t e r f e i t e d Anerican paper money
during the Revolution. We f i n d the same was
done both i n World War I and World War I I .
While we may be arrogant and assume
t h a t h i s t o r y i s j u s t dead people, we f i n d
that f o r whatever we nay b e l i e v e i s new,
chances are you can f i n d i t has been done
before.
x

Arabia
In the East, women were o f t e n l e a d e r s
as a l s o e x i s t e d i n B r i t a i n . One o f the moat
formidable usurpers was i n f a c t a woman
Zenobia. She issued c o i n s i n the Eastern
s t y l e of a debased B i l l i o n Tetradrachm. Yet
because o f the Roman system, she d i d not
c l a i m f o r h e r s e l f Empress,, but she d i d f o r
her son Varelathus. So we see coinage that
was of Eastern denomination s t i l l f o l l o w i n g
the Greek system o f a drachm w i t h Zenobia
portrayed, but a bronze antoninianus o f her
son w i t h f u l l Roman t i t l e s * She even i s s u e d
coinage showing A u r e l i a n and Vabalathus not
as r i v a l s , but as co-emperora.
Zenobia was queen o f Palmyra i n S y r i a
from about 267 t o 272. She was carving out
a Eastern empire and had conquered s e v e r a l
Roman provinces. She s t y l e d h e r s e l f a f t e r
the famous Cleopatra V I I o f Ware Anthony
and Caesar fame. I n 269AD, Zenobia seized
Egypt and took most o f A s i a Minor. The war
against her was nevertheless unpopular and
the rumors p i c t u r e d A u r e l i a n was more I n
f a c t offended by her gender. She was indeed
captured and defeated. Indeed, A u r e l i a n
had w r i t t e n i n a l e t t e r t h a t "The Roman
People speak w i t h contempt o f the war which
I am waging a g a i n s t a woman." Zenobia t r i e d
to show her courage. When A u r e l i a n faced
her, he asked how dare she take up arms
against the emperors of RomeJ He replied*

I t appears t h a t there was a massive

e f f o r t during the r e i g n o f G a l l i e n u s t o
c o u n t e r f e i t the coinage. The q u a l i t y o f
the r e a l c o i n s o f Rome had f a l l e n so much,
t h a t they d i d i n f a c t o f t e n appear t o be *
i m i t a t i o n s themselves. Once the coinage
was debased so there was no r e a l s i l v e r
content, then the c o i n s became worthless
i n many respects. Consequently, what we
see d u r i n g t h i s p e r i o d i s massive amounts
of barbaric c o u n t e r f e i t s . They are o f t e n
found i n Gaul and B r i t a i n and that tends
to suggest t h a t once Gaul seceded from
Hood, one c o u l d not be c r i m i n a l l y punished
for c o u n t e r f e i t i n g c o i n s o f a r i v a l empire.
Thus, i t appears, t h i s was the source o f
extensive c o u n t e r f e i t s .
AURELIAN RETORM
To end the c o u n t e r f e i t i n g that no doubt
had some e f f e c t upon the t o t a l implosion o f
the Soman monetary system, A u r e l i a n not o n l y
r e s t o r e d the weight o f the antoninianus i n
bronze a t l e a s t and unproved the silver-wash
c o a t i n g , he then f o r n a l l y e s t a b l i s h over 20
mints and created a mint-mark as i s s t i l l
used today "D" f o r Denver and "S" f o r San
Franciso i n American modern coinage. This
new system allowed an i n f e r i o r c o i n t o be
i d e n t i f i e d as t o i t s o r i g i n .

"Because I disdained t o consider as

Roman emperors and Aureol us or a
G a l l i e n u s , You alone I acknowledge
as my conqueror and my sovereign."
She was allowed t o r e t i r e and g i v e n
an estate i n T i v o l i l o c a t e d i n I t a l y . This
i l l u s t r a t e s t h a t wholesale c o l l a p s e o f the
Raman Empire t h a t touched every corner o f
the s t a t e .

A f t e r A u r e l i a n discovered c o r r u p t i o n i n
h i s own s t a f f , before he acted, a secretary
forged a l i s t o f people t o be executed and
convinced them they should a c t f i r s t . Fence,
A u r e l i a n , known f o r h i s a n t i - c o r r u p t i o n view,
was murdered. This shock i s the o n l y time the
legions asked the Senate t o e l e c t an emperor
pledging t h e i r support. We thus have a pause
known as the Interregnum where the senate had
issued a reformed s e s t e r t i u s {1Sgm) and a
cbpondius w i t h the p o r t r a i t of the Genius
o f t h e Roman People pending an e l e c t i o n
process.

TACITUS.
{275-27[> A.D.J.
CARUS.
A.D.),

The Senate e l e c t e d an e l d e r l y man who

claimed he was a ctecendent from the famous
h i s t o r i a n by the same name, T a c i t u s (275
27SAD) j o i n e d the army i n Thrace (Northern
Greece) t o f i g h t once again a g a i n s t the very
p e r s i s t e n t Goths. He d i e d perhaps o f plague
i n A p r i l 276AD.

FLORTANUS.
(37(1 ArDn).

JflUMEMAN.
(2S3-B4 AJ>,).

Upon the death of Probus, the P r a e t o r i a n

P r e f e c t , k i n d o f the head o f the s e c r e t s e r v i c e , was h a i l e d emperor - Cams (2B2-283flD).
He a l s o named h i s two sons as Caesar. He took
one son w i t h him, Nurnerian f283-2S4AD), t o
invade P e r s i a . He succeeded i n d r i v i n g them
back, and j u s t outside t h e i r c a p i t a l by the
name o f ctesiphon, he was k i l l e d by being
s t r u c k by l i g h t e n i n g , Nuraerian was h a i l e d
as emperor, but never made i t back being then
k i l l e d by h i s own men, or o f plague.

T a c i t u s ' h a l fb r o t h e r P l o r i a n u s (276AD)
assumed the throne, whereas h i s r u l e was a t
l e a s t t o l e r a t e d by the Senate, However, i t
was the S y r i a n l e g i o n s who disagreed and had
named t h e i r commander. I n t h e ensuing new
c o n f l i c t , F l o r i a n u s perished a f t e r a r u l e o f
j u s t two months.
J

-CARINTJS.

pnoBUS(27MS2 A.o.).

The s u r v i v i n g new v i c t o r i o u s emperor

became known t o h i s t o r y as Probus (276-82ftD).
ETe served under V a l e r i a n and T a c i t u s w i t h
honor. H i s r e i g n became notable not merely
f o r h i s m i l i t a r y success, but f o r h i s reforms
and improvements f o l l o w i n g the model o f t h e
respected A u r e l i a n , The s o l d i e r s , however, he
put t o work b u i l d i n g c i v i l p r o j e c t s . They
resented t h i s duty and a band murdered him
a t Sirmium, i n Syra.
There were s t i l l nvmy usurpers, many o f
whom lacked the resources t o even mint coins
and whose names remain whispers oh the'..winds
o f h i s t o r y . A general who feared accounting
f o r h i s f a i l u r e t o defend i n Germany, t r i e d
t o seize the throne. H i s coinage i s very
rare preserving h i s name as Bonosus. He have
another contender r i s i n g i n Ale^<andria by the
name o f Satuminus, who i s known t o h i s t o r y
by two g o l d c o i n s t h a t have survived. Ehese
coins are the u l t i m a t e r a r i t y o f a l l time.
There are no doubt others who have not had
the fortune t o be rennofcered oy t h e i r coins
i n t h i s craay p e r i o d .

Cari n us (2B3-285AD) was the e l d e s t son

o f Carus who was l e f t i n charge o f the West
while h i s father and brother entered P e r s i a .
Upon the death of Nnnarian, the c h i e f o f f i c e r
o f the Imperial Household, proclaimed himself
emperor, and marched upon Rome, Carinus wis
v i c t o r i o u s , but he was irourdered by one o f h i s
own o f f i c e r s .

oioc.i.i-.riAN.

This b r i n g s us t o the l a s t emperor o f

the 3 r d Century who indeed brought s i g n i f i c a n t
reform on a wide-spread s c a l e . He completely
22 a l t e r e d the money suppy & reintroduced s i l v e r .

JULIAN.

Carinus had been formidable i n the

a r t o f war. He had defeated not merely
D i o c l e t i a n , but another General 1*0 had
marched against him from Panonia. A l l
o f h i s coins were s t r u c k by a s i n g l e mint
at S i s c i a . He marched upon Carinus i n
265 a f t e r being h a i l e d emperor by the
legions i n the B a l k i n s i n 234, He has thus
been known t o h i s t o r y as J u l i a n of Pannonia
(284-235AD) l o c a t e d i n the B a l k i n s . This i n
fact i l l r i s t r a t e t l there remained discontent.

D i o c l e t i a n created a monetary reform

t h a t was far-reaching, and even reintroduced
s i l v e r that was respectable. T h i s new s i l v e r
denarius was known a s the argenteus meaning
s i l v e r . The e e s t e r i u s disappears and we now
have a new c o i n , the f o l l i s that begins i n
s i z e o f about 27mm i n diameter s t r u c k i n
bronze and silver-washed. The antoninianus
i s s t i l l minted i n bronze. The g o l d i s a
good q u a l i t y and weight.

M A X I M ! A N U S T.

HcrCuliulr

D i o c l e t i a n was more of a statesman

than a general. This accounts f o r h i s
complete overhaul o f the economy as w e l l
as the p o l i t i c a l s t r u c t u r e , what he saw
i n h i s mind was a new form o f government
whereas the emperor had become the execu^
t i v e branch l i k e a p r e s i d e n t . The senate
was incapable o f t r u l y governing the s t a t e
no l e s s the empire. He created what i s
known as the t e t r a r c h y whereby the r u l e
of the empire was d i v i d e d i n h a l f , and
then two caesars (Vice Presidents) were
appointed under two a u g u s t i . Amazingly,
he a l s o e s t a b l i s h e d t h a t the top two
would r e t i r e , and d i d , w i t h the two then
caesars rising--.tr> the highest posts. He
t r i e d t o create a system t h a t would i n
f a c t provide s t a b i l i t y .

( 2 S 4 - 3 0 5 and
30&-3QB A.&J,

C O N S T A K T I U S I,

Chloi-us,

GAIERILS

MAXIMTANUS.

[CiMfjH*2M-3G5,
(Own-293-305,
Angwtoii 3 0 5 - 3 0 6 A . D . J . vljtfj/jfhf 3 Q 5 - 3 I ] A D.J.
R

The t e t r a r c h y thus d i d not l a s t very

long. D i o c l e t i a n and MaJdjnianus 1 do i n fact
r e t i r e i n 305AD, while the l a t e r returns i n
30G-30B. I t l e here we f i n d Ccnstantius I ,
Chlorus, who i s the f a t h e r o f Constantine
the Great, who w i l l e v e n t u a l l y march on t h i s
t e t r a r c h y under the C h r i s t i a n signs and whose
view i s there ought t o be 1 emperor as there
i s 1 God.

CARAU5IU3,
(237-253

The complete c o l l a p s e o f the Roman

world was so profound; t h a t t h i s was the
primary cause f o r the r i s e of C h r i s t i a n i t y
i n Europe, i n North A f r i c a t o P e r s i a , t h e
idee o f one c r e a t i n g god e x i s t e d . The
Greeks and Remans d i d not have a concept
of god c r e a t i n g man. I t was not even any
paganism as commonly perceived. The gods
of Rone and Greece were rare mischlewms
beings who played w i t h humans. I t was a
d i f f e r e n t concept. So when the world was
c o l l a p s i n g , they prayed,, but there was no
response. C h r i s t i a n i t y became a whole new
idea. Consequently, there was tha p o s i t i o n
that e i t h e r (1) there were no such gods, o r
(2) they were mad because o f these new
C h r i s t i a n s . Thus, i t i s now t h a t we begin
to see the worst C h r i s t i a n persecutions i n
h i s t o r y . They a r e prosecuted because the
gods are mad a t how many people are no
longer worshiping the Roman gods.

22

A.t).

ALLECTU5,
( 2 M - 2 9 6 A.Dj.

There i s one more r e b e l l i o n i n B r i t a i n

and i t t r i e d t o secede under Carausius {287293AD) But he i s murdered by h i s c h i e f mini s t e r A l l e c t U S (293-296AD) who was about t o
l o o t Iondon when Constant!us a r r i v e s . Thus,
Constantius d i e s a t York. His son becomes
his p o l i t i c a l h e i r .
CONSTANTINE J,
Ch Great
(O^df 306-303,
Au?wnw 308-337).

Constantine The Great thus completes

the monetary reforms. He reconstructed the
system i s s u i n g a gold s o l i d u s 1/72'lb t h a t
was a r e d u c t i o n from the 1/60: l b previous.
He introduced a s i l v e r s i l i q u a = 1/24th a
s o l i d u s , and as i n f l a t i o n was s t i l l q u i t e
p e r s i s t e n t due t o a l a c k o f confidence, he
issued the nd_liarense (double s i l i q u a ) ,
The bronze coinage resembled nothing ever
issued. They may be the f o l l e s , but are
d e c l i n i n g from 30 t o 23mm i n diameter.

hen we l o o k a t h i s t o r y , we must p i e r c e t h e v e i l and l o o k n o t

j u s t the l i t e r a l f a c t s - We must look a t the patterns and the human f o l l e y
t h a t t r u l y d i c t a t e s the trend. What we can draw from t h i s monumental debt
c r i s i s o f the 3rd Century i s (1) the arrogance o f the " o f f i c i a l d o m " o f
which C i c e r o spoke back i n 55BC. T h i s arrogance presumes ucwar by the sheer
possession of an o f f i c e . A l l gpvernmental povjar e x i s t s o n l y so f a r as i t does not offend
the esteem o f the people, f o r t h a t alone confers a l l power upon a s t a t e - even i n dicta.t o r e h i p s . Tn other^words, people w i l l submit t o a u t h o r i t y o n l y so long. Revolution i s
always an option when as Thomas J e f f e r s o n " i n the Course of human events, i t becomes
necessary f o r one people t o d i s s o l v e the p o l i t i c a l bands which have connected them" t h a t
t h i s i s an i n a l i e n a b l e r i g h t i n and o f i t s e l f . P o l i t i c i a n s b e l i e v e they can do as they
l i k e and the people have no choice to obey. That i s f i c t i o n and the dreams o f t y r a n t s .
<2) t h a t Marxism t h a t i s not f o r the b e n e f i t o f the people, o n l y t o place a l l
r i g h t s , p r i v i l e g e s , and d i g n i t i e s i n t o the hand o f p o l i t i c i a n s , i s the most d e s t r u c t i v e
o f a l l assumptions of power, f o r i t p r o h i b i t s the very nature o f mankind and s t i f l e s
any p o s s i b l e economic innovation when the c a p i t a l i s concentrated i n t o the hands o f
o n l y the government, f o r t h a t destroys a l l l i b e r t y and freedom c r e a t i n g a system o f
p o l i t i c a l d e c i s i o n s t o create innovation t h a t becomes impossible when the s e l f - i n t e r e s t
i s f i x e d o n l y upon maintaining immediate power.
(3) t h a t the squandering o f domestic wealth on paying s u b s i d i e s , t r i b u t e , a i d ,
o r whatever other l a b e l t h a t may be attached, t o paying s t a t e s f o r t h e i r l o y a l t y and
support, destroys the economic c a p i t a l formation, reduces the n a t i o n a l wealth, and
buys no such l o y a l t y f o r money can
n e i t h e r buy love nor f r i e n d s h i p , o n l y a pretense
o f a r e l a t i o n s h i p t h a t q u i c k l y turns t o hate once the s i l v e r cords o f c a p i t a l are
severed.
(4) where the provinces p a i d taxes t o the core, and they were unable t o do so, then
the core economy iirploded unable t o meet i t s expenses- Today, the debt i a so widespread
t h a t the provinces a r e i n danger o f c o l l a p s i n g <states) cjniarjding a i d from the core t h a t
i t s e l f i s unable t o finance.
(5) t h a t once p u b l i c confidence i s destroyed, respect f o r the government indeed
c o l l a p s e s , hoarding o f wealth takes place, r e f u s a l t o accept the currency on f a i t h , and
eventually the government w i l l be backed i n t o a comer so desperate f o r cash, i t w i l l
t u r n against i t s own people, render them c r i m i n a l s t o j u s t i f y the c o n f i s c a t i o n , but
even t h i s w i l l not s u s t a i n the system*
We can see that the c o l l a p s e o f Roman
monetary system took place between 252 and
268. The speed w i t h which i t took place was
t r u l y amazing. The t h r e a t we face i s t h a t the
e n t i r e system must be looked at as a whole.
Seeing C a l i f o r n i a broke i s the t i p of the
iceberg. As t h i s contagion spreads from one
s t a t e t o the next because we have perhaps
I50-S1D0 t r i l l i o n of unfunded promises not
j u s t f e d e r a l l y w i t h s o c i a l s e c u r i t y , but i n
pensions t o governnent workers. A l l o f t h i s
has been based upon the presurjrjMcn t h a t

someone w i l l be there t o buy the debt. What

happens when t h a t day does not cane? How
can we l i v e i n d e f i n i t e l y on a c r e d i t card
w i t h no hope o f long-term s o l u t i o n s f o r the
p o l i t i c i a n s o n l y care about t h e i r immediate
personal a b i l i t y t o h o l d o f f i c e . The f u t u r e
i s someone e l s e ' s problem.
T h i s i s why we w i l l see a r a l l y i n g o l d
and s t o c k s , but the stocks must wait f o r the
3T month low from the 2007 high before we
w i l l see a r a l l y i n t a n g i b l e assets t o o f f s e t
the r i s k o f government debt.