War Tokens for Silver? Quantifying the Early Bronze Issues of Ionia

"What follows is a first attempt to look into the quantities involved with the earliestbronze coins of western Asia Minor and their survival rate, which may throw light on thecircumstances of their introduction in c. 400.1 Bronze was first used as a metal for coinage inthe Greek world sometime in the second half of the fifth century. Some of the earliest bronzecoins were produced by casting by mints of Sicily and the Black Sea.2 Mints of other regionswere quick to adopt base metal and by the first quarter of the fourth century most active mintsstruck their own bronze coins.3 It is generally believed that it was a practical response to theincreasing use of coinage in everyday transactions4. Tiny silver coins were being replaced bybigger coins made of bronze whose bullion value was a fraction to that of silver. But bronzecoinage, on the other hand, did not enjoy the same level of confidence among users and waseven regarded with suspicion when it was first introduced..."