Silver had great value and aesthetic appeal in many ancient cultures where it was used to make jewellery, tableware, figurines, ritual objects and rough-cut pieces known as hacksilver which could be used in trade or to store wealth. The metal of choice to mint coinage for long periods, acquisition of silver mines in such places as Greece, Spain, Italy, and Anatolia was an important factor in many an ancient conflict. The metal was also found, amongst other places, in mines in ancient China, Korea, Japan, and South America where it was transformed into beautifully-crafted objects for elite use and to give as tribute and prestige gifts between states. Easily mined, worked, reusable, and brilliantly shiny, silver was one of the few truly international commodities which both connected and divided the ancient world.
More about: Silver in Antiquity7 days left
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Definition
Timeline
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c. 635 BCE - 585 BCEReign of Alyattes of Lydia. Minting of first coins made from electrum.
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c. 550 BCEThe silver drachma of Delos depicts a lyre - symbolic of Apollo - on its reverse side.
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c. 211 BCEA new system of Roman coinage is introduced which includes the silver denarius.
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c. 157 BCEThere is a boom in the production of Roman silver coinage, in part thanks to the acquisition of silver mines in Macedonia.
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84 BCESulla mints new silver and gold coins to pay his army.
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1101 CEThe unbyong (aka hwalgu) silver vases are first made and used as currency in Korea.