Uploaded December 2021 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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This video estimates the amount of gold in the Roman Empire - and the approximate chances of that gold ending up in your smartphone.

I would like to thank Frank Holt, Chris Howgego, and George Green for their generous assistance. (I would also like to absolve them of any responsibility for my conclusions!) Those interested in Dr. Green's research on "fingerprinting" the gold in Roman coins can read more here:
sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352409X21003400

Please consider supporting this channel on Patreon:
patreon.com/toldinstone

If you liked this video, you might also enjoy my book “Naked Statues, Fat Gladiators, and War Elephants: Frequently Asked Questions about the Ancient Greeks and Romans.”

amazon.com/Naked-Statues-Fat-Gladiators-Elephants/dp/1633887022

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reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/wiki/profiles/toldinstone
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goodreads.com/author/show/20993845.Garrett_Ryan

Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
0:54 Uses of gold in ancient Rome
2:13 How much gold did the Romans capture?
5:33 How much gold did the Romans mine?
7:00 How much gold left the Empire?
8:21 A very rough estimate of gold in the Roman world
8:57 Comparing Roman gold and the modern supply
9:55 The odds of Roman gold existing in your phone

Thanks for watching!