Hacksilver (Hacksilber)
Hacksilver or hacksilber, is ancient silver disks, bars, rods, foil, and broken and cut fragments of those forms and also of coins, jewelry or other silver items used as a medium of exchange by weight. It was common in trade beginning at the end of the Iron Age, c. 1200 B.C. in the Levant, and lasted until the first century B.C., were it was used by the Celts and other tribal people in Hispania and Gaul. It was used again in the Middle Ages by the Vikings.
Hacksilver for sale in the Forum Ancient Coins shop.
References
Balmuth, M. (ed.). Hacksilber to Coinage: New Insights into the Monetary History of the Near East and Greece. ANS Numismatic Studies No. 24. (New York, 2001).
Garcia-Bellido, M. "Hackgold and Hacksilber in protomonetary Iberia" in Garcia-Bellido Barter (2011), pp. 121-135.
Gitler, H. "A Hacksilber and Cut Athenian Tetradrachm Hoard from the Environs of Samaria: Late Fourth Century BCE" in INR 1 (2006), pp. 5-14, pls. 1-2.
Golani, A. & B. Sass. "Three Seventh-Century B. C. E. Hoards of Silver Jewelry from Tel Miqne-Ekron" in Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research No. 311 (Aug 1998), pp. 57-81.
Kim, H. "Archaic Coinage as Evidence for the Use of Money" in in Money and its Uses in the Ancient Greek World. (Oxford, 2001), pp. 7 - 21, pl. 1.1.
Kim, H. & J. Kroll. "A Hoard of Archaic Coin of Colophon and Unminted Silver (CH I.3)" in AJN 20 (2008), pp. 53-103, pls. 12-36.
Kroll, J. "A Small Find of Silver Bullion From Egypt" in AJN 13 (2001), pp. 1-20, pl. 1.
Van Alfen, P. "Herodotus 'Aryandic ' Silver and Bullion use in
Persian-Period Egypt" in AJN 16/17 (2004-2005), pp. 7-46, pls. 2-5. (Includes the "Ingot Hoard")
Van Alfen, P., M. Almagro-Gorbea, & P. Ripolles. "A New Celtiberian Hacksilber Hoard, c. 200 BCE" in AJN 20 (2008), pp. 265-293, pls. 65-68.
Garcia-Bellido, M. "Hackgold and Hacksilber in protomonetary Iberia" in Garcia-Bellido Barter (2011), pp. 121 - 135.
Page 132, figure 11 (part of).
Gitler, H. "A Hacksilber and Cut Athenian Tetradrachm Hoard from the Environs of Samaria: Late Fourth Century BCE" in INR 1 (2006), pp. 5 - 14, pls. 1 - 2.
Available Online
In
1999 the Israel Museum received a donation of a hoard consisting of
five cut Athenian tetradrachms plus 32 Hacksilber pieces reportedly
found in the vicinity of Samaria. The importance of this Samaria-region 1999 Hacksilber hoard lies in the fact that it further illustrates that the practice of cutting coins and using them alongside Hacksilber and jewelry to be weighed in transactions continued into the second half of the fourth century BCE.
All items are silver except No. 5 which is silver
plated.
Cut Athenian tetradrachms:1. Cut half, !, 6.76 g (Pl. 1:1).
2. Cut quarter, !, 3.90 g (Pl. 1:2).
3. Cut tenth, !, 1.69 g (Pl. 1:3).
4. Cut tenth,
axis unclear, 1.59 g (Pl. 1:4). Probably same date as Nos. 1–3.
5. Silver-plated bronze, cut half, !, 8.34 g (Pl. 1:5).
6. Dumpy
flan, 4.15 g.
Test cut. This
pi-style Athenian
tetradrachm fixes the
terminus ante quem for the concealment of the hoard (see above and n. 5).
7. Dumpy
flan, 10.19 g.
Test cut. (Pl. 1:7).
8. Chisel cut fragment of
flan with prior
test cut. 3.18 g.
9–10. Pellets, 1.30; 0.81 g
11. ‘Token’ or flattened
flan, 3.56 g
12. Small ‘token’ or flattened
flan, 0.54 g.
13–18. Fragments of block-shaped ingots, 12.71; 10.37; 7.47; 6.08; 4.46; 2.8 g
19. Fragment of cake ingot (traces of graffito?), 9.82 g
20. Fragment of a flat-tongue ingot, 5.52 g
21–23. Fragments of chocolate bar ingots, 1.95; 1.89; 1.3 g
24–33. Lunate earrings and their fragments, 1.89; 1.77
34. Lunate earring (different shape from previous ones), 1.68 g
35. Lunate earring with four-lobed attachment, 2.14 g
36. Ingot fragment, 7.12 g. Test cuts.
37. Fragment of worked object, 0.63 g
Kim, H. & J. Kroll. "A Hoard of Archaic Coin of Colophon and Unminted Silver (CH I.3)" in AJN 20 (2008), pp. 53 - 103, pls. 12 - 36.
Available Online
This hoard of the later 6th century BC consists of 903 minute
silver coins in essentially two denominations, and 77 pieces of unminted
silver, over half of which are small, unweighed disks apparently made
for monetary exchange. The coins are the earliest coins of Colophon, and
the circumstance that they are smaller than all but three of the pieces
of unminted silver suggests that when the hoard was buried the
Colophonians were employing what might be termed a bi-specie monetary
system: small coins for very low level transactions, and bullion weighed
on the balance for transactions involving more substantial sums.
Unminted silver (Pls. 12-13)
Weights are given in grams. Dimensions (length/width/thickness) in millimeters.
Hammered disks (and other shapes)
Flat
on both sides. One face normally shows two to five slight facets from
hammering, while the other face, compressed against the surface of an
anvil, is perfectly smooth.
1. 25.39 31/21/6 Thick.
2. 14.83 23/17/5
3.
12.02 25/16/4.5 Because of the tapering thickness, hammering failed to
flatten the metal at its thinner end, which retains traces of relief on
both sides from prior working. The lines and grooves in the relief are
jumbled and do not suggest any design or lettering, such as would
indicate that the metal had previously been a coin.
4. 11.61 22/22/5
5. 10.84 26/15/4 About a quarter of the original metal was chopped off at one end with three chisel cuts.
6. 10.24 20/16/5
7. 8.62 20/14/5
8. 7.20 21/16/3 Multiple small facets on upper face; cf. 22, 35.
9. 5.90 15/12/3.5 The smoother, anvil side is lightly scratched with nine, apparently random lines.
10.
5.72 15/14/3.5 The wide, deeply punched hole on one side was presumably
punched for testing, probably before the piece was hammered.
11. 5.12 15/13/3
12. 4.53 16/12/3 A piece had been chopped off the small end before hammering.
13. 4.16 12/8/3 Cut into rectangle and then hammered (facets on one face).
14. 4.04 14/13/3
15. 4.01 13/13/3
16. 3.82 12/11/4 Thick.
17. 3.72 16/13/2
18. 3.72 16/11/2.5
19. 3.55 18/11/2.5 One side cut before hammering.
20. 3.29 13/11/2.5
21. 3.14 16/12/2
22. 2.93 18/12/2 Multiple facets on one side.
23. 2.89 13/11/2
24 2.61 12/11/2
25. 2.52 16/8/2
26. 2.49 13/12/3-1 Half of disk that was snapped in two after the thickness was reduced with small facets towards the middle.
27. 2.46 11/11/2.5
28. 2.24 8/12/2-1.5 Half of disk that was snapped in two after the thickness was reduced, like 26.
29. 2.11 12/9/2
30. 1-97 11/7/2
31. 1.94 11/11/2
32. 1.91 14/10/1.5-1 Thickness tapers towards both ends.
33. 1.86 11/9/2
34. 1-77 10/7/3
35. 1.72 15/9/1-0.5 Thickness tapers towards both ends. Multiple small facets on both sides, cf. 8.
36. 1.70 10/9/2
37. 1.67 10/9/2
38. 1.66 8/8/4 Thick.
39- 1.61 12/10/1.5
40. 1.44 11/9/1.5 Rough, unworn edges.
41. 1-37 11/10/1.5 Rough, unworn edges.
42. 1.36 10/9/2 Half of a sharply cut disk.
43. 1.32 10/Ii/1.5 Metal probably with 1 or 2 cut edges before flattening.
44. 1.10 10/9/1.5
45. 1.09 6/6/3.5 A partially flatten cube. Thick.
46. 0.92 9/8/1
47. 0.76 11/10/1
48. 0.69 7/7/1
49. 0.58 7/7/1
50. 0.43 7/6/1
51. 0.41 7/5/1 Rough edges before flattening
52. 0.24 5/5/1
Amorphous lumps
53.
40.84 31/18/15 Lumpy, curved piece of silver, cast roughly in the shape
of the letter pi. If straightened out into a more or less flat bar, the
bar would measure 60 x 18mm, with a thickness of about 10 mm.
54. 10.22 22/13/6 Bean-shaped lump, rough and rounded on all sides.
Fragments chopped from disks or other ingot types55. 5.13 17/14/5-1 4 edges, of which 2 are cut. Thickness tapers.
56. 4.92 18/10/6 4 edges, of which 3 are cut.
57. 4.78 16/10/5 4 edges, all cut.
58. 2.89 11/10/3 4 edges, all cut.
59. 1.62 9/7/4 5 edges, of which 3 are cut.
60. 1.58 9/8/5 6 edges, of which 4 are cut.
61. 1.51 7/7/4 6 edges, of which 5 are cut.
62. 1.01 7/7/4.5 6 edges, of which 4 are cut.
63. 1.05 7/6/4 4 edges, all cut.
64. 1.03 9/7/3 6 sides, all cut.
65. 0.47 8/7/1.5 4 sides, of which 3 are cut.
Scrap pieces of worked silver66.
12.85 25/23/8 Thin, silver sheeting (c. 1 mm thick) tightly folded over
3 or 4 times. The yellowish hue of the surface and a small (c. 2 x 3
mm), adhering flake of gold foil show that the silver had formerly been
gilded. It had also been embossed with an indeterminate design, which
included a large
area stippled with closely-placed dash-like punches.
67. 3.65 9/8/2 Cut end of tongue-shaped strip, bent in curve.
68. 2.79 1 l/th. 5-7 Fragment of a rod, cut at each end.
69. 2.65 15/8/2.5 Cut at left and right from 8 mm wide strip.
70. 2.58 16/8/2 Cut at left and right from 8 mm wide strip.
71. 2.59 13/10/2 Spirally wound wire (2 mm thick) with finished ends, from an ear ring.
72. 2.48 13/12/ 3.5-2 Curved piece of wire (3.5-2 mm thick), cut at both ends.
73. 2.04 13/n/2 Spirally wound wire (2mm thick) with finished ends as 71.
74. 1.84 8/6/7 Fragment, probably from a
fibula, where a round and a cubed section were joined. Cut at each end.
75. 1.84 10/11/1 Tongue-shaped strip (1 mm thick), round at both ends, bent double and pinched together.
76. 1.42 8/8/1 Tongue-shaped strip (1 mm thick), round at both ends, bent in curve.
77.
0.76 10/7/1 Length of
jewelry band (1 mm thick), ornamented with wire
borders and band of raised rectangles in between. Cut at both ends and
rolled into a loop.
Van Alfen, P., M. Almagro-Gorbea, & P. Ripolles. "A New Celtiberian Hacksilber Hoard, c. 200 BCE" in AJN 20 (2008), pp. 265 - 293, pls. 65 - 68.
This study presents a
Hacksilver hoard recently acquired by the ANS and argues for a significant role for
Hacksilver
in the monetization of Iberia in the third century BCE. Among the 136
silver pieces that comprise the hoard eight are identifiable as coins
(nos. 1-8), only one of which is
complete,
the rest being cut into halves, quarters and smaller fragments. Three
fragments cannot be attributed with any certainty, although one might be
Gaulish (no. 6) and another might be a drachma with Emporitan types
(no. 8). The remaining five coins are: one drachma of Arse-Saguntum (no.
1), three Iberian imitations of drachmas of Emporion (nos. 2-4), and a
Dyrrachium
stater
(no. 5). In spite of the small number of coins in the hoard, their
presence is significant because they enhance our knowledge of the issues
in circulation during the Second Punic War and the first years of the
second century BCE.
1 - 8. Coins.
36 - 52. Rod fragments.
53. Cut ingot fragment 1.52 g.
54. Cut ingot fragment, copper concretions, 1.13 g.
55. Cut ingot fragment,
weight: 0.83 g.
56. Cut ingot fragment, flattened (slightly thicker than foil), 0.57 g.
57. Cut ingot fragment, flashes, 2.55 g.
58. Cut ingot fragment, 1.66 g.
59. Cut ingot fragment, flattened (slightly thicker than foil), 0.75 g.
60. Cut ingot fragment, flashes, 0.46 g.
61. Cut ingot fragment, cut marks, 0.59 g.
62. Cut ingot fragment, 0.52 g.
63. Cut ingot fragment, 0.50 g.
64. Cut ingot fragment, possibly a coin fragment, 1.19 g.
65. Cut ingot fragment, 0.45 g.
66. Cut ingot fragment, 2.52 g.
67. Cut ingot fragment, copper concretions, 0.65 g.
68. Cut ingot fragment, 0.72 g.
69. Ingot fragment of drop of silver smelting, 0.56 g.
70. Cut ingot fragment, 0.78 g.
71. Ingot fragment of drop of silver smelting, 0.81 g.
72. Ingot fragment of drop of silver smelting, 1.09 g.
73. Cut ingot fragment, 1.10 g.
74. Ingot fragment of drop of silver smelting, 1.99 g.
75. Cut ingot fragment, 1.19 g.
76. Cut ingot fragment, flattened, 0.46 g.
77. Ingot fragment of drop of silver smelting, flattened oval form, 0.52 g.
78. Cut ingot fragment, copper concretions, 1.03 g.
79. Cut ingot fragment, 0.56 g.
80. Ingot fragment of drop of silver smelting, 0.49 g.
81. Cut ingot fragment, 0.99 g.
82. Cut ingot fragment, 0.39g.
83. Cut ingot fragment, one edge beveled, 0.87 g.
84. 133. Silver foil.
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