Moneta prezzo e moneta merce in C.Th. 9.23.1. Tra legge di Gresham e penuria monetae

In the middle of IV century, the law 9.23.1 of the Theodosian Code forbids the melting down and the transport of bronze coins from one place to another for speculative sale. In order to obstruct the speculation, orig inated from the scarcity of money in Gaul, the emperor command that some coins must be treated as pretium and not as merx: their worth should not be the one determined by the metal contained in it, but the one as signed to it by the state. Neverthless, the law is complex and ambiguous. Delmaire provided a satisfactory interpretation of the law on the whole, but I suggest a different explanation of the terms contained in it, such as pecunia in usu publico constituta (bronze coins which have legal tender, in our case maiorinae and centenionales) or pecunia vetita (bronze coin which should not be handled, in our case – I think – coins of the usurpers).