Indeed, the debasement of fringe is part of what makes it interesting and significant.
At the same time, however, there were significant economic and political constraints on the state's ability to take advantage of debasements.
On the other side were social groups who stood to lose from debasements and the accompanying inflation and therefore opposed them.
As a result, debasements were frequently used as an alternative to additional taxation.
In other words, debasements generated an initial surge in revenues, followed by a decline in real terms due to the inflation they created.
In the short term, debasements provided relief from shortages of specie and coinage in circulation by increasing the nominal value of the coinage in circulation.
Even if a social group did not always benefit from debasements and inflation, it could still prefer debasements to additional taxation.
At the same time, however, there existed significant economic and political constraints on the state's ability to take advantage of debasements.
