What was used for pre-coinage currency around 1200-1300BC around Ancient Greece, Crete etc.?
In the pre-currency age people simply exchanged merchandise for merchandise. For example, if a baker wanted two bottles of milk he and the farmer would have to agree upon how many loaves were equivalent to one bottle of milk in lieu of a means of equal value. Commodities that were highly sought after were often normalised and accepted by a group of people to function in the same way as a currency would. The agreed commodities would circulate as an element of trade, so that individuals could purchase other products that were valued in terms of these particular items. Examples include: coffee, salt, sugar, tobacco, cloth, cocoa, and livestock. However, the inconvenience involved – trading with others who did not share the same standardised commodity, transporting it and the short shelf life of fresh foods – saw the need for a coinage system as a medium of exchange. The first coins resembling those of today, are said to have appeared around the 7th Century BC. The coins were made out of r
