The denarius fell from about 97% silver under Augustus to about 5% by the mid-third century. By what percentage of its original fineness had it fallen? (Give the drop as a percentage of the original, to the nearest whole number.)

95 (answers within ±2 count)

About 95% of the silver, gone. You can weigh the third-century crisis: the state kept the coin’s name and face and quietly removed almost everything it was made of, an inflation curve preserved in metal.