Of course, here is a version about half the original length, better suited for reading in a post:

How did the Roman Empire turn silver coins into copper coins?
The denarius silver coins issued by the early Roman Empire had a high silver content, earning the trust of the people and merchants.
Later, as war and fiscal expenditures kept increasing, the government began to reduce the silver content of the coins, mixing in more and more copper, while still circulating them at their original face value.
In the short term, the Roman government gained more fiscal revenue; but in the long run, people realized the new silver coins were becoming less valuable, so they began hoarding old coins and spending the new ones as quickly as possible. Prices rose, the credibility of the currency kept declining, and trade was also affected.
Saifedean Ammous used this story in *The Bitcoin Standard* to illustrate:
Ancient empires diluted their currency by mixing copper into silver coins, while modern nations expand the money supply by issuing more fiat currency. The forms differ, but the underlying logic is similar—when money becomes easier to create, its ability to serve as a store of value keeps weakening.
This is also a key reason why the author supports "hard money": the harder it is to increase the supply, the easier it is to earn the market's trust over the long term.