Greek Silver Before Coinage: Medium of Exchange, Vehicle of Capital Accumulation, or Commodity?

There has been some debate as to whether Greece made use of silver as a form of currency before the introduction of coinage in the 6th century BC. By analogy with the Levant one might expect that it did, but unlike the Levant there is virtually no evidence for this practice. Observations that the Phoenicians, in particular, adopted coinage so much later than the Greek cities, and that the earliest Levantine coins were in general of Greek or Persian origin, makes one suspect that the uses of silver preceding and surrounding the introduction of coinage in these two regions were rather different. 

This paper therefore considers the role of silver in Greece in the Early Iron Age and early Archaic periods, at a time when it is clear from both direct and circumstantial evidence that this material was being acquired and used.