Keywords
barbarian societies
commodity exchange
social structure
craft production
trade contacts
economic transformations
How to Cite
Abstract
The article analyzes the emergence and functioning of coined money in so-called barbarian societies in the Balkan Peninsula in the second half of the 1st millennium BC, with particular emphasis on the Thracians, Illyrians, Geto-Dacians, and Celts. The aim of the study is to determine the socio-economic conditions that enabled the introduction of coinage in these environments and to identify similarities and differences compared to the classical centers of the ancient world. The author applies a comparative method, juxtaposing processes in barbarian societies with the development of monetary systems in Athens and Rome. The analysis shows that the emergence of coined money was not solely the result of contacts with Mediterranean civilization, but primarily a consequence of internal socio-economic transformations. Key factors included the development of commodity production, the intensification of trade exchange, and increasing economic and social stratification. In the case of the Thracians, the first emissions appear already at the turn of the 6th and 5th centuries BC, whereas among the Illyrians, Geto-Dacians, and Celts this process occurred later, in the 3rd–2nd centuries BC, often in the form of imitations of Greek or Macedonian coins. The author emphasizes that the introduction of coinage was also connected with political transformations, such as the emergence of state structures or more complex tribal organizations. In many cases, the emission of coins preceded fundamental changes in social structure or was their direct result. The conclusions indicate that the genesis of coined money in barbarian societies had a universal character and was primarily conditioned by the level of economic development and the degree of social stratification, rather than solely by external influences. This process constitutes an important indicator of the transition from kin-based structures to more complex forms of social organization.
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© by Adam Mickiewicz University, Faculty of History, Poznań, 1995
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