Without a doubt, one can say that the usage of a coin system was much better than bartering. But there were as well drawbacks too, in this system, especially with the earlier coins. First of all, the coins did not always come in a uniform pattern. The value of a coin depended solely on its weight. Hence, no official standards were set regarding its value.
Another problem was breakage. Although the coins were made of different kinds of strong metals, they would break in the course of time. This, in turn, would reduce the value of the coin.
Counterfeiting, or production of fake currencies, was yet another major challenge. Counterfeiting was mainly done by mixing base metals with pure gold or silver.
Apart from these, sometimes, the rulers too contributed to the debasement of coins. They would produce more coins than needed, and circulate them, which in turn, reduced the value of the coins.
