The Pre-Monetary Economy of the Minoans: Barter, Palaces, and the Power of the Weight

Money is defined as any good or medium that is generally accepted in an economy as a medium of exchange, a unit of account (or measure of value), and a store of value. 

The economy of the ancient Cretans is refereed to today as pre-monetary. That is, they did not mint coins, as is done today, but their transactions were based on a system of exchange and redistribution of various goods such as milk, honey, meat, precious stones and others. This redistribution, researchers believe, was handled by the palaces themselves.

Due to the inability to decipher the Minoan scripts (Linear A), it is not possible to know precisely what this system looked like or exactly how they measured value. However, through other evidence, we can at least get some ideas. 

The traditional view holds that the palaces collected agricultural products and manufactured goods and redistributed them to the population or used them in trade. Trade itself became a medium of exchange. In various shipwrecks around the Mediterranean, oxhide ingots (bronze talents) have been found. Although it is not believed that they were minted as a general-purpose currency, as we see from 6th century onwards until today, we assume that their weight played a role in determining their value in international trade with other Aegean and Mediterranean islands. 

The value of these metals is believed to have been determined by their weight. Weights seem to have played an important role in this type of measurement, such as the one shown in the picture below and exhibited at the Heraklion Archaeological Museum. 

   

It is officially interpreted as a weight that was used in the palatial system for the measurement and determination of the value of large quantities of goods and raw metals. It appears that there were numerous weights of this type, of various weights and designs. This specific one weighs about 29 killograms and features embossed designs of an octopus with spread tentacles. The hole at the top likely served for its suspension (hanging).


Author: Theocharis George Paterakis 

References: 

      Michailidou, A. & Arthur Evans. (1906). On the Minoan economy: a tribute to “Minoan weights and mediums of currency” by Arthur Evans. In Corolla Numismatica. https://helios.eie.gr/helios/bitstream/10442/8485/1/On%20the%20Minoan%20economy_A.%20Michailidou.pdf 

      Wikipedia contributors. (2025, September 3). Palace economy. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_economy

      Hemingway, C., & Hemingway, S. (2002, October 1). Minoan Crete. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. https://www.metmuseum.org/essays/minoan-crete

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Location: Λονδίνο, Ηνωμένο Βασίλειο

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