Comment by aurizon

Rome had a growing problem - the lack of fiat currency as the reserves of silver and gold were exhausted. They had to find alternates. They tried debasement(adding lead/zinc/copper( but that created the early quick tests. Same now. We have so little gold that going to a gold backed method in circulation = gold would wise to $20,000 more or less per ounce at which point sea water extraction is economic. (currently it costs more to pump 1 ton of water over a 2 foot hill that the value of the gold therein)