DOI issue:
Artykuły / Articles
DOI article:Van Alfen, Peter G.: Problems in the political economy of archaic greek coinage
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.22230#0032
PETER VAN ALFEN
is suggestive of hyper-vigilance of neighboring activity and economic insecurity
ushered along interstate personal networks. From the regional perspective, domes-
tic coining decisions resulted in a series of interlocking informal institutions rather
than a single centralized and formalized institution. The outcome was effectively
the same - an efficient regional system - but one that developed from competitive-
ness rather than cooperation.
Together these examples offer contrasting views of voluntary and involun-
tary action, of formal and informal institutional development, of intemally- and
externally-oriented monetary policies, and of the (dis)association of coinage and
civic identity.
CONCLUSIONS
The need for new methodologies and frameworks in the study of archaic
Greek coinage should by now be apparent. By shifting focus to the dense decision
processes that initiated and administered the production (rather than distribution
and consumption) of early coinage, we may gain greater insight into not only how
early coinages came about, but why they did. I argue that current approaches in
the study of archaic coinage do not go far enough to shed light on these processes:
they tend towards polarized systems of interpretation, generally positing either
economic or political motivations; and they employ methodologies that are either
heavily descriptive but theoretically under-informed, or are theoretically astute but
weak on the numismatic evidence. I suggest a significantly different, synthetic
approach: close study of the coinage (bottom up ) and appropriate theoretical appli-
cations (top down) to help frame and model the decision processes. Morę specifi-
cally, I suggest integrating technical numismatic die studies with recent theoretical
frameworks developed in the fields of political science, sociology, and economics.
Contact the author at: pvanalfen@yahoo.com
Ackno wledgements:
An earlier version of this paper was presented at a 2009 conference on eco-
nomic history hosted by Montana State University and organized by Josiah Ober
and Billy Smith. I thank the organizers and participants for their comments. Ad-
ditionally, I thank the 2010, 2011 and 2012 ANS summer seminar students for
their criticisms. I am, as always, grateful to Muserref Yetim for her inspiration
and insights on all things political and economic. Any short coinings here are, of
course, minę alone.
is suggestive of hyper-vigilance of neighboring activity and economic insecurity
ushered along interstate personal networks. From the regional perspective, domes-
tic coining decisions resulted in a series of interlocking informal institutions rather
than a single centralized and formalized institution. The outcome was effectively
the same - an efficient regional system - but one that developed from competitive-
ness rather than cooperation.
Together these examples offer contrasting views of voluntary and involun-
tary action, of formal and informal institutional development, of intemally- and
externally-oriented monetary policies, and of the (dis)association of coinage and
civic identity.
CONCLUSIONS
The need for new methodologies and frameworks in the study of archaic
Greek coinage should by now be apparent. By shifting focus to the dense decision
processes that initiated and administered the production (rather than distribution
and consumption) of early coinage, we may gain greater insight into not only how
early coinages came about, but why they did. I argue that current approaches in
the study of archaic coinage do not go far enough to shed light on these processes:
they tend towards polarized systems of interpretation, generally positing either
economic or political motivations; and they employ methodologies that are either
heavily descriptive but theoretically under-informed, or are theoretically astute but
weak on the numismatic evidence. I suggest a significantly different, synthetic
approach: close study of the coinage (bottom up ) and appropriate theoretical appli-
cations (top down) to help frame and model the decision processes. Morę specifi-
cally, I suggest integrating technical numismatic die studies with recent theoretical
frameworks developed in the fields of political science, sociology, and economics.
Contact the author at: pvanalfen@yahoo.com
Ackno wledgements:
An earlier version of this paper was presented at a 2009 conference on eco-
nomic history hosted by Montana State University and organized by Josiah Ober
and Billy Smith. I thank the organizers and participants for their comments. Ad-
ditionally, I thank the 2010, 2011 and 2012 ANS summer seminar students for
their criticisms. I am, as always, grateful to Muserref Yetim for her inspiration
and insights on all things political and economic. Any short coinings here are, of
course, minę alone.