![]() The inscription breaks off at this point so we do not know how or when the misthos was actually paid but it is evident that no citizen arriving after the water had run out was entitled to any pay. Each citizen as he enters is to give to the neopoies of his own tribe a pessos inscribed with his own and his father’s names, which the neopoies shall put into the box. The neopoiai (whose principal duty was to care for the upkeep of the temple), six in number, probably one for each tribe (although this is a matter of speculation as we do not know how many tribes there were at Iasos, see below) are to take their seats each with a box in front of him having a slot of two fingers’ length the boxes to be previously sealed by the prostatai. Here is a summary of its content: on the sixth day of each month, which is the regular day for the assembly, at daybreak a water-clock is to be set up in the form of a vessel holding one metretes (about 40 litres) placed 7 feet from the ground, with a hole the size of a bean, and the water set running as soon as the sun is up. It is indeed a most remarkable inscription for it is the only one known for the Greek world to detail the organisation and the method of payment of the fee due to citizens attending the assembly. For a number of internal and external reasons, he dated the inscription to the years 330-325. This gave the opportunity to Gauthier to publish a more complete and reliable edition of the inscription. Several editions have been based on these copies until 1987 when a squeeze made by Haussoullier re-surfaced in Lyon. The inscription itself, on a marble slab, is today lost. This inscription, which prompted Delrieux’s suggestion, was first seen on an island of the Iasic Gulf by Bernard Haussoullier and was later recorded by Paton 7. Fabrice Delrieux suggested that these coins might have been minted at Iasos specifically for the payment of the assembly fee, the ekklesiastikon, the details of which are described in an interesting inscription re-edited in 1990 by Philippe Gauthier 6. Originally the amo (.)Ģ One example of a specific coinage whose precise raison d’être was recently explained is a series a bronze coins struck by the city of Iasos in the later part of the fourth century. 9 At Athens, assembly pay was introduced in the early fourth century by Agyrrhios.8 Fabiani, however, argues in her contribution to this volume that the number of phylai may have been (.). ![]() 7 Haussoullier 1884 Paton’s transcription was used by Hicks 1887.These wideranging explanations are obviously handy but they are not always convincing or satisfying when one looks at specific coinages. We also know examples of new coins minted to replace older ones especially in the case of a coinage reform. Others believe that coins were at times struck by the state to make a profit. Chief and foremost reasons for minting are state expenditure (which were obviously multiple) and military expenditure there are also reasons which directly pertain to trade and exchange which coins are supposed to facilitate 5. Of course, we do speculate and try to provide explanations as to why this or that mint struck this or that coin in this or that circumstance. Mint records have been lost and coinage itself rarely records the reason for its issue. We have to admit that we are usually unable to explain why an ancient city decided to issue a specific type of coinage. This is a remarkable development which still calls for an explanation. In Asia Minor, for instance, the earliest bronze coins were almost as small as the silver fractions they were replacing 4. During the first wave of bronze issues, however, not all ancient mints struck chunky bronze coins 3. Tiny silver coins were being replaced by bigger coins made of bronze whose bullion value was a fraction of that of silver. It is generally believed that it was a practical response to the increasing use of coinage in everyday transactions 2. 425-375 we witness a general move towards bronze coinage all across the Greek world. Bronze coinage, on the other hand, did not enjoy the same level of confidence among users and was even regarded with suspicion when it was first introduced towards the end of the fifth century 1. 5 For these questions, see Howgego 1990 and Howgego 1995.ġ Coins in precious metal could be used for a wide range of transactions, or could be put aside for safe-keeping as coins in gold or more commonly silver would always retain their bullion value.4 Hundreds of these small early bronze coins were included in the Phygela hoard, see SNG Kayhan, inde (.).3 South Italian and Sicilian mints, among the first to strike bronze coins, produced heavy coins, som (.).2 For a discussion of early Greek bronze coinages, see Price 1979 and Price 1968.In mid-fifth century Athens, for instance, one Dionysios proposed a law t (.)
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