Over a period of about two centuries beginning in the year 68, the Romans experienced hyperinflation, not by printing fiat currencies, but by diluting the silver content of their coins. The Romans continuously minted silver coins with less silver and replaced the silver content with less valuable base metals like copper and broze. This chart below from Dylan Grice’s “Hyperinflation in Japan” presentation shows the decline in silver content of Roman coin during the 3rd century fiscal crisis. The Roman empire nearly collapsed as a result of the hyperinflation caused by the dilution of their silver coins.

It took the Romans two centuries to hyperinflate their currency to worthlessness, but the Federal Reserve has caused the U.S. dollar to lose 97% of its purchasing power in just one century. NIA believes the next 97% loss of purchasing power for the U.S. dollar will likely occur over the next decade.

http://inflation.us/blog/2011/05/roman-hyperinflation-over-two-centuries/