Mines of Laurion and First Known Silver Coinage
The Mines of Laurion (“the Mines”) are ancient mines in Greece about 50 kilometers south of Athens that were primarily producers of silver, but that were also a source for copper and lead. The Mines are particularly important in history not only as an example of mining in ancient times, but also as the silver that was extracted from the Mines went on to be included as the base metal in some of the first known mass coinage minting for a county.
The exact point at which mining at the Mines began is unknown but based on the writer Xenophon’s Ways and Means from 354 BC, the Mines “have for a very long time been in active operation.” The earliest known evidence for mining in the area is from around 3,200 BC, but an organized form of mining did not arise until the late sixth century BC. Around this time a particularly rich vein of silver was discovered which allowed the Athenian economy to grow rapidly. This drew the attention of Persia who coveted the Mines. Athens utilized 3,000 silver tons from the Mines to construct 200 triremes (ships) to defeat Persia at the Battle of Salamis in 480 BC. Decades later, as a result of the loss of free men and slaves to the Peloponnesian War, Athens shut down the operation of the mines.
Around 370 BC a group of businessmen re-opened the mines and continued to operate them with some success despite the competition from gold and silver industries in Macedonia and Thrace. Alexander the Great’s conquest of Persia and its silver mines caused the price of silver to tank, the Roman conquest in 168 BC led to the closure of the Mines to limit Macedonian power, and a short time later the Romans went on to partner with the Athenians to work the Mines together.
During the ancient period, the silver extracted from the Mines had a specific isotopic ratio of lead within it that has allowed researchers to trace ancient coins content back to the silver taken from the Mines. The Athenians apparently mined their silver exclusively from the silver from the Mines and this coinage was highly sought after as the purity of the silver was very rare at the time. Athens’ usage of the coinage was primarily directed to the creation of and maintenance of the Athenian Navy, as mentioned above during the Peloponnesian War.
As the Mines’ silver production declined, the Greek rulers devalued their silver coinage with copper and lead. Athens resisted this urge, having only devalued once under Solon. As a result of Athens’ restraint in monetary debasement of precious metal content, Athens’ commercial and political power continued to grow over all of Greece.
Analysis: Two primary lessons can be derived from the Mines of Laurion and early Greek coinage story. One, silver has been valued by humanity as a store of value, medium of exchange, and a unit of account for millenniums. Humans view it intrinsically as valuable. Second, corrupt governments have devalued precious metals content and the nominal value of precious metals for millennium, to the detriment of both economies, countries, and the People.
