SILVER

From SILVER
GREEK. Northern Greece. AR 1-5th tetradrachms of the Kings of Macedon, Philip II.jpg

The SILVER website is a by-product of the SILVER ERC, led by Francis Albarède (ENS-Lyon). The SILVER ERC aims to study the flow of silver in the ancient world in a doubly innovative way. On the one hand, by studying the isotopic compositions of both coins and ores; on the other, by working on lead and silver isotopes. A series of papers has already been published, to which we refer the reader 1 2 3 4 56 7 8 9 10 11.

The SILVER website, for its part, does not focus on metallographic analysis but on two types of numismatic data: die-studies and overstrikes (surfrappes, Überprägungen, riconazioni), with the aim of gaining a better understanding of the production and circulation of money in the Mediterranean basin in the broadest sense. It brings together and makes accessible two databases launched by François de Callataÿ more than 25 years ago.

The ERC SILVER project is led by Francis AlbarèdeORCID 0000-0003-1994-1428 who enthusiastically supported the creation of this website whose two portals were first designed by Caroline Carrier[1] and François de CallataÿORCID 0000-0002-5381-2534 and developed by Bernhard KrabinaORCID 0000-0002-6871-3037.


The Die-Studies Database (DSD) aims to gather and make available all the produced die-studies for the Graeco-Roman world in its broad acceptance from Spain to India. It is intended to offer a key tool for putting monetary productions into perspective and estimating their volumes.

The DSD largely enlarges and improves the c. 630 cases collected and presented by the two Recueils quantitatifs de la production monétaire for the Greek world 12 13. Dr. Caroline Carrier has prepared the spreadsheets for some 1,800 coin die-studies. Great additional help was provided by interns: Cloé Heemskerk (Brussels, ULB), Marie-Alix Bilgischer (Brussels, ULB), Baptiste Gil y Hurtado (Lyon, ENS), and Anamaria Baltă (Bucharest, University).

The Greek Overstrikes Database (GOD) aims to gather and make available all the known overstrikes for the Greek world in its broad acceptance from Spain to India whatever the metal (but gold overstrikes are rare). Overstrikes are of course a decisive tool for chronologies (what is below is before) but they also prove to be of fundamental importance for the study of coin circulation, especially for the silver flows, hence this development into the frame of the project SILVER.

The various material collected for GOD has been gathered since 2010 by François de CallataÿORCID 0000-0002-5381-2534 with the great help of David MacDonald 14 15. Dr. Caroline Carrier has prepared the spreadsheets for some 2,000 overstrikes. Great additional help was provided by interns: Sonia Hanczack (Lyon, ENS), Avrile Bigot--Bastian (Lyon, Lyon 2), Corentin Biron (Brussels, ULB), Aikaterini Remma (Thessaloniki, Aristotle University), Vincent-Vieux-Champagne (Lyon, Lyon 2), and Guillaume Wohnrau (Geneva, University).

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References

  1. ^  Albarède, Francis - Blichert-Toft, Janne - Gentelli, Liesel - Milot, Jean - Vaxevanopoulos, Markos - Westner, Katrin - Klein, Sabine - Birch, Thomas - Davis, Gillan - Callataÿ, François de (2020), “A miner’s perspective on Pb isotope provenances in the Western and Central Mediterranean,” Journal of Archaeological Science, 121, 105194, p. 1-14. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2020.105194).
  2. ^  Albarède, Francis - Blichert-Toft, Jane - Callataÿ, François de - Davis, Gilian - Debernardi, Pierluigi - Gentelli, Liesel - Gitler, Haim - Kemmers, Fleur - Klien, Sabine - Malod-Dognin, Chloé et al. (2021), “From commodity to money: the rise of silver coinage around the ancient Mediterranean (6th-1st century BCE),” Archaeometry, 63 (1), 2021, p. 142-155. (https://doi.org/10.1111/arcm.12615).
  3. ^  Albarède, Francis - Callataÿ, François de - Debernardi, Pierluigi - Blichert-Toft, Janne (2021), “Model for ancient Greek and Roman coinage production”, Journal of Archaeological Science, 131, DOI 105406 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2021.105406).
  4. ^  Milot, Jean - Malod-Dognin, Chloé - Blichert-Toft, Janne - Télouk, Philippe - Albarède, Francis (2021), "Sampling and combined Pb and Ag isotopic analysis of ancient silver coins and ores," Chemical Geology, 20 March 2021, 120028 (see: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0009254120305672)
  5. ^  Gentelli, Liesel - Blichert-Toft, Janne - Davis, Gillan - Gitler, Haim - Albarède, Francis (2021), "Metal provenance of Iron Age Hacksilber hoards in the southern Levant," Journal of Archaeological Science, 134, 105472 (see: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305440321001424)
  6. ^  Milot, Jean - Blichert-Toft, Janne - Ayarzagüena Sanz, Mariano - Feder, Nadège - Télouk, Philippe - Albarède, Francis (2021), "The significance of galena Pb model ages and the formation of large Pb-Zn sedimentary deposits," Chemical Geology, 583, 20 November 2021, 120444 (see: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0009254121003879)
  7. ^  Milot, Jean - Blichert-Toft, Janne - Ayarzagüena Sanz, Mariano - Malod-Dognin, Chloé - Télouk, Philippe - Albarède, Francis (2023), "Silver isotope and volatile trace element systematics in galena samples from the Iberian Peninsula and the quest for silver sources of Roman coinage," Geology, 50 (4), p. 422–426 (https://doi.org/10.1130/G49690.1)
  8. ^  Vaxevanopoulos, Markos - Blichert-Toft, Janne - Davis, Gillan - Albarède, Francis (2022), "New findings of ancient Greek silver sources," Journal of Archaeological Science, 137, January 2022, 105474 (see: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305440321001448)
  9. ^  Blichert-Toft, Janne - Callataÿ, François de - Télouk, Philippe - Albarède, Francis (2022), “Origin and fate of the greatest accumulation of silver in ancient history”, Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 14:64, 10 p. (see https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-022-01537-y)
  10. ^  Vaxevanopoulos, Markos - Davis, Gillan - Milot, Jean - Blichert-Toft, Janne - Malot-Dognin, Chloé - Albarède, Francis (2022), "Narrowing provenance for ancient Greek silver coins using Ag isotopes and Sb contents of potential ores," Journal of Archaeological Science, 145, 105645 (see: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305440322001030)
  11. ^  Westner, Katrin - Vaxevanopoulos, Markos - Blichert-Toft, Janne - Davis, Gillan - Albarède, Francis (2023), "Isotope and trace element compositions of silver-bearing ores in the Balkans as possible metal sources in antiquity," Journal of Archaeological Science, 155, July 2023, 105791 (see: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305440323000699)
  12. ^  Callataÿ, François de (1997), Recueil quantitatif des émissions monétaires hellénistiques, Numismatique Romaine, Wetteren, X + 341 p.
  13. ^  Callataÿ, François de (2003), Recueil quantitatif des émissions monétaires archaïques et classiques, Numismatique Romaine, Wetteren, VII + 267 p.
  14. ^  Callataÿ, François de (2017), “Greek Overstrikes Database: a short presentation”, in Maria Caccamo Caltabiano et al. (eds.), XVth International Numismatic Congress. Taormina. Proceedings, I, Messina, 2017, p. 467-470.
  15. ^  Macdonald, David (2009), Overstruck Greek coins: studies in Greek chronology and monetary theory, Whitman Publishing, Atlanta.