Evolution of the Composition of Monetary Alloys of Ancient Greek States on the Black Sea Shores Based on the Data of X-Ray Fluorescent Spectroscopy with the Example of Bosporos Cimmerian

Abstract

The results of studying the monetary alloys of ancient Bosporos by X-ray fluorescent spectroscopy are presented. A change in the sources of silver for early Bosporos coins in the middle of the 5th century B.C. and a transition from presumably Thracian to Attic (Lavrion) source of silver supply are revealed. The deterioration of metal of Bosporan staters of the first centuries A.D. and their transformation from coins of “full metal value” into coins of conditional value has been studied in detail. Using the knowledge about the monetary alloy composition, one can analyze the financial and economic history of Bosporos, as well as its political, economic, trade, cultural, and technological influences and relations with the ancient centers of the Black Sea and Mediterranean regions.