Antoninianus

It was silver, similar to the denarius, except that it was slightly larger and featured the emperor wearing a radiate crown, indicating it was a double denomination.

This created inflation: people rapidly hoarded the denarii (Gresham's law), while both buyers and sellers recognized the new coin had a lower intrinsic value and elevated their prices to compensate.

Vast quantities were minted, with a large percentage of the circulating stock being contemporary forgeries, often with blundered legends and designs.

The resultant situation was not unlike the hyperinflation of the Weimar Republic in 1920s Germany, when paper money was printed in reckless abundance.

Today most of these coins are extremely common finds, with a few scarcer examples including Aemilianus, Marcus Aurelius Marius, Quietus, and Regalianus.