What action started the massive inflation rates in the roman empire?

Answer 1

The main cause of the hyperinflation in the Crisis of the Third Century was the debasement of the Roman coins. For more than a century several emperors had debased the Roman coins (they reduced the gold or silver content of the coins). This was done to increase the supply of coins to meet public expenses and increasing and military expenses which came with increases in the size of the army and in the pay and bonuses to the military. This led to both a devaluation of the coins and an oversupply of money, which led to hyperinflation. The coins eventually came to have virtually no value. They had as little as only 5 % of precious metal.

The coin oversupply was worsened by usurper emperors who issued their own coins. The Crisis of the Third Century was a military and political crisis as well as an economic one. Repeated raids and attempted invasions from across the vast frontiers of the empire overstretched the Roman army and caused great strain. This led to military anarchy. Most of the emperors of this period were military commanders who were proclaimed emperors by their own troops. Many emperors were murdered by soldiers, sometimes even by their own troops. There were also 35 military commanders who became usurper emperors. They were proclaimed emperors by their troops in their areas and tried to rule their areas separately.

Prices increased rapidly, the coins were no longer a viable means of exchange and there was insecurity in travelling created by the continuous warfare. All this made trade virtually disappear, except for barter exchange at the regional level. The empire did not recover fully from this.

Answer 2

Inflation was caused by continued debasements (reductions in the precious metal content) of the Roman silver and gold coin. This was done to increase the minting of coin in an attempt to keep up with increasing military expenditure. In the end these coins had hardly any gold or silver content and became worthless. This, combined with an oversupply of coins, caused prices to rise and inflation to spiral out of control.