The Incredible Copper Money of Bronze Age Europe

Video Description

Thanks to Opera for sponsoring this video. Click here https://opr.as/Opera-browser-DanDavisHistory to upgrade your browser for FREE! Is it possible that the societies of bronze age central Europe, almost four thousand years ago, were using small metal bars and rings as their money? They cast vast numbers of intriguing metal objects in the shapes of bars and rings. Dating to between about 2000 BC and 1600 BC, these are found buried in hoards right across Central Europe. And some scholars believe that these bars and rings actually functioned as money in this ancient society. This is over a thousand years before the first coins in the world were made in the kingdom of Lydia in western Anatolia. This is the incredible story of the first money in bronze age central Europe. *If you enjoy my videos please consider supporting the channel* Become a YouTube Channel Member: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUVwT8zcS5Z_rYXnpomlbfg/join Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/dandavisauthor All my books on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3xngwz5 *My Links* Website http://dandavisauthor.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dandavisauthor/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/DanDavisWrites Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dandavisauthor/ *Artwork* Remy: https://x.com/Re_my_06 Ancient Europeans: https://x.com/ancient_euro3 *Sources* The Oxford Handbook of the European Bronze Age: https://amzn.to/3ClL8YR Kuijpers MHG, Popa CN (2021) The origins of money: Calculation of similarity indexes demonstrates the earliest development of commodity money in prehistoric Central Europe. PLoS ONE 16(1): e0240462 M. Junk, R. Krause and E. Pernicka (2001) Ösenringbarren and the Classical Ösenring Copper Kuijpers MHG. The Bronze Age, a World of Specialists? Metalworking from the Perspective of Skill and Material Specialization. European Journal of Archaeology. 2018;21(4):550-571. doi:10.1017/eaa.2017.59 Prehistoric Copper Mining in Europe: https://amzn.to/3vw0Omp A History of Metallurgy: https://amzn.to/3s2Go1Y Metals Make the World Go Round: https://amzn.to/3KtR9B4 The above includes affiliate links so we may make a small commission from your purchases at no additional cost to you which is a way to support the channel. *Video Chapters* 00:00 The First Metal Money in the World 02:03 Opera Sponsorship 03:25 The Únětice culture 05:21 Bronze Hoards 06:33 Rib Ingots and Ring Ingots 07:41 Bronze Age Copper Ingots 09:02 What is Money? 10:00 The First Money? 15:32 The Origins of Money