Metallgeld vor der Münzverwendung in der Ägäis, ca. 1400-600 v. Chr[Metal money before coinage in the Aegean, ca. 1400–600 BC]

The importance of weighed metal money (Hacksilber and other metals) not only in the Near East, but also in the whole Mediterranean, before the advent of coinage, is only beginning to be fully recognised. There are still many ongoing discussions as to the characteristics, functions and the level of circulation of this kind of money, as well as its relations to other systems of measuring and exchanging wealth, including coinage. This paper concentrates on the Aegean, but by placing it in its Mediterranean context I try to approach some wider economic and monetary dynamics. It is argued here (1) that weighed gold money played a role in the Mycenaean economy outside the palatial sphere, notably in the exchanges with the Near East and Egypt, and that this was a part of the wealth of Mycenaean elites; (2) that gold continued to play a role in the Iron Age down to the 8thcentury at least; (3) that the introduction of silver as money, pre-dates the introduction of coinage and played an instrumental role in shaping the new economies of emerging city-states, notably slavery; (4) that all these developments can be paralleled with processes known in the Near East and Egypt. The invention of coinage, far from being an economic, social and cultural revolution, is seen here in a continuum with an already widely monetised economy.