SAT Inferences Question

An analysis by Alain Elayi and colleagues of coins minted in Sidon in the fifth and fourth centuries BCE reveals a change in their composition over time: while a coin from circa 450 BCE contains about $98\%$ silver and $1\%$ copper, a coin from 367 BCE (the end of Ba'alsillem II's reign) contains $74.2\%$ silver and $24.7\%$ copper, giving it a relatively yellowish appearance that traders would have noticed. Because coins with a silver content below $80\%$ were widely considered unsuitable for trade, Elayi et al. speculate that a crisis in confidence in the currency occurred in Sidon around 367 BCE, which was likely relieved-despite Sidon's persistent oppressive financial obligations—as a result of Ba'alsillem II's successor Abd'astart I's decision to ## Which choice most logically completes the text?