2 ms·

> The ducat lasted ~730 years and preserved a reasonably consistent amount of value all through that time. Not really. Inflation long predates modern times, th

> The ducat lasted ~730 years and preserved a reasonably consistent amount of value all through that time. Not really. Inflation long predates modern times, there's a reason that the terminology is called "debasement" (adding base metal to gold coins). I don't have hard numbers on the value of the ducat (because that pretty much requires trawling historian journals I don't have access to), but judging from other coins that pop up, the annual inflation rate would have averaged perhaps 0.5% for the Medieval and Early Modern. Why should a steady 2-5% inflation rate in modern times be considered destructive to value, but not the steady 0.2-1% of earlier periods?

roenxi 4y ago
> Why should a steady 2-5% inflation rate in modern times be considered destructive to value, but not the steady 0.2-1% of earlier periods? Because they are different by an order of magnitude. Over a 70 year lifetime, at 0.2% inflation a coin is worth 90% of its value at the start of the life. At 2%, it is worth a hair less than 25% (at 5%, it would be effectively worthless because the coin has lost 97% of its initial value). That is quite a different outcome - one of those rates I could save using coins and not do too terribly in real terms.