This is a tangent, but I find it pretty interesting that there was really no alternative to fiat value for the Seleucid bronze coins. The problem is that Greek money terms were fixed: 6 obols to the drachm; 20 drachms to the stater.
But the Seleucids minted obols in bronze, drachms in silver, and staters in gold. The value of each metal is set by market forces -- they move independently of each other. For silver, this wasn't really an issue -- it was the reference currency, so a rise in the value of silver just meant that the price of everything fell. One drachm of silver stayed one drachm of silver.
But a change in the value of bronze caused problems. A bronze obol was always notionally worth one sixth of a silver drachm. But if the value of bronze had risen since the obol was minted, the coin might be worth more for its material than for its face value.
The only real solution is the one that was implemented; bronze coins contained much less bronze than their face value called for. At most one metal in a multimetallic coin system can be valued by weight.
But the Seleucids minted obols in bronze, drachms in silver, and staters in gold. The value of each metal is set by market forces -- they move independently of each other. For silver, this wasn't really an issue -- it was the reference currency, so a rise in the value of silver just meant that the price of everything fell. One drachm of silver stayed one drachm of silver.
But a change in the value of bronze caused problems. A bronze obol was always notionally worth one sixth of a silver drachm. But if the value of bronze had risen since the obol was minted, the coin might be worth more for its material than for its face value.
The only real solution is the one that was implemented; bronze coins contained much less bronze than their face value called for. At most one metal in a multimetallic coin system can be valued by weight.