Aegean Silver Trade

Timeline

1. c. -1000–-800Aegean islands · Aegean SeaIn the early Iron Age, Aegean city-states and Phoenician merchants conducted interregional exchange in uncoined forms such as silver ingots and silver rings, rebuilding the long-distance trade links that had shrunk after the Bronze Age collapse.
2. c. -700–-550Laurion · AtticaSystematic exploitation of the silver mines at Laurion in Attica gave Athens a steady silver supply; revenue from mining rights became a mainstay of polis finance and helped make silver the dominant pricing metal in Aegean trade.
3. c. -600–-500Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea · Greek colonial areasGreek city-states generally issued silver drachmas, and the silver trade network expanded with colonial activity to the southern coast of Asia Minor, Egypt, and the Black Sea littoral, forming a regional market with mutually recognized fineness and weight.