W HY C OINAGE ? P OLITICAL AND E CONOMIC A SPECTS

H ACKSILBER

T HE B IRTH OF C OINAGE Remains at Sardis Lydian? electrum stater, c. 575 BC

T HE P ACTOLUS A SOURCE OF E LECTRUM ?

A RTEMISION, E PHESUS T HE P ROBLEM OF D ATING

A RTEMISION, E PHESUS

T HE V ARIETY OF E ARLY E LECTRUM I SSUES W HAT D OES IT S IGNIFY ?

W HY A BANDON E LECTRUM ? L YDIA, S ARDIS, C. 550 BCE EL AND AR “C ROESIDS ”

W HY C OINAGE ? M ODES OF I NTERPRETATION P OLI ( S ) TICAL -coinage a locus of internal (non-)elite conflict, political justice (Kurke) -coinage a locus of social justice, moral economy (Will, von Reden) -coinage the outcome of a particular Greek mentality (Seaford, Schaps) -coinage no more than a political phenomenon, a form of civic pride, identity and self-representation (Finley) -coinage an expression of sovereignty; the “right of coinage” (Seyrig) E CONOMIC -coinage a tool for paying state expenses, especially military (de Callatay) -coinage a source of revenue (Le Rider, Bolin)

F RAMEWORKS AND Q UESTIONS P ROBLEMS OF M ETHODOLOGY AND T HEORY I NDUCTIVE (“N EW -T HIS, P OST -T HAT ”) -The framing of problems within anthropological or literary theories in order to approach the material evidence of coinage through the (literary) representation of coinage. D EDUCTIVE (“W ISSENSCHAFT ”) -The focus on single mints to produce a die study, which provides the relative chronology of the various series and the statistical basis for determining the quantity of coins produced, plus technical information on weight standards and die axis preferences.

F RAMEWORKS AND Q UESTIONS P ROBLEMS OF M ETHODOLOGY AND T HEORY T HEORETICAL (S ELF -) AWARENESS -A claim of ”no theory” is still theory -Epistemological and heuristic problems of “objectivity” T HE T HEORETICAL T OOLKIT -Economic Theory (coins as economic instruments) -Political Theory (coins as political instruments) -Social Theory (coins as social instruments) -Anthropological/Archaeological Theory (coins as material culture) -Art Theory (coins as art)

T HE T HEORETICAL T OOLKIT : E CONOMIC -( NEO ) CLASSICAL : to map supply/demand and price formation - MARXIAN : to understand the modes of production and consumption, and the formation of value -( NEO ) INSTITUTIONAL : to understand the role of transaction costs, property rights, rule of law, and path dependency - ECONOMIC SOCIOLOGY : to understand the role of social networks and social capital, trust, and collective action - ECONOMIC ANTHROPOLOGY : provides cross cultural comparanda on value formation, embeddedness, and (in)formal economies

T HE T HEORETICAL T OOLKIT : P OLITICAL - PUBLIC CHOICE THEORY : to explore rationality and the behavior of self-interested political actors and agents - BARGAINING THEORY : to understand sources of inefficiencies in reaching agreements - ELITE THEORY : to understand power distributions - NETWORK THEORY : to trace the organization of information and loyalties - INSTITUTIONS THEORY : to appreciate how actors and agents shape institutions and are shaped by them

A GAIN : W HY C OINAGE ? Let us think of coinage as a collective action problem involving real people. The production of coinage is a cooperative project requiring a coordinated series of communal decisions: -Why coinage? Why now? -What metal? -What weight standard? -What iconography? -How many? -Who decides and why?

F RAMEWORK AND Q UESTIONS P OLITICAL ECONOMIES OF ( ARCHAIC G REEK ) C OINAGE P OLITICAL E CONOMIES -How did this particular group of people come to think coinage was important (and where did they obtain their information?) -How did their governing structures help or hinder the alignment of interests? -How did they implement and enforce their decisions? -How successful was the outcome? Politically? Economically? A “M IDDLE R ANGE ” M ETHODOLOGICAL F RAMEWORK -A framework integrating theory and empirical observations, e.g., the combined use of political and economic theories and technical numismatic study (e.g., die, hoard, metallurgical studies, etc.)

P REDATOR OR B ENEFACTOR ? K EY A SSUMPTIONS -Overvaluation of electrum coinage a driving factor -Generation of trust not limited to the state -No necessary relationship between coinage and the state -”Right of coinage” not limited to the state -Access to precious metals not regulated

“T HE S TATE ”

P REDATOR OR B ENEFACTOR ? F RAMEWORK -Context of Archaic state formation -Instability of monarchical rule -Bargaining over (property) rights -Levi’s theory of predatory rule and discount rates

B IN T EPE : E LITE A LIGNMENT ?

“C ROESIDS ”: A M ANIFESTATION OF P OLITICAL S TABILITY ? L YDIA, S ARDIS, C. 550 BCE EL AND AR “C ROESIDS ”

P ROBLEM : D ISPERSED A UTHORITIES ? WALWET (A LYTTES ) L YDIA, EL 1/3 STATER, C. 575 BCE

P ROBLEM : D ISPERSED A UTHORITIES ? “I am the semis of Phanes” I ONIA, E PHESUS ?, C. 600 BCE EL STATER

P ROBLEM : C OINAGE AND I DENTITY Ionia, unknown mint, c. 600 BCE EL hekte

P ROBLEM : S OCIAL N ETWORKS AND C OINAGE T HE D EVELOPMENT OF W IDESPREAD T RUST

P ROBLEM : A LIGNMENT OF I NTERESTS T HE D EVELOPMENT OF C IVIC C OIN M ONOPOLIES

C ASE S TUDY 1: L ESBOS E FFICIENT COOPERATION Methymna, AR stater, c. 500 BCE

C ASE S TUDY 1: L ESBOS Mytilene-Phokaia Cooperative EL hektai

C ASE S TUDY 1: L ESBOS E FFICIENT COOPERATION Lesbos, uncertain mint(s), c. 500 BCE Billon staters

C ASE S TUDY 2: S AMOS, K LAZOMENAI, I ALYSOS I NEFFICIENT COOPERATION /H EGEMONIC ACTION

C ASE S TUDY 3: E UBOIA E FFICIENT N ON -C OOPERATION Tetradrachm of EretriaTetradrachm of Chalcis