The Isotopic Composition of Silver in Ore Minerals

Arribas, Antonio; Mathur, Ryan; Megaw, Peter K. M.; Arribas, Isabel

doi:10.1029/2020gc009097

Cited by 22 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…2018; Arribas et al . 2020), which potentially allows for a high selectivity of provenance. Correlating minting ages and Pb isotopes has upheld the proposition of a major shift of silver ores shortly after the Second Punic War (Albarède et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2018; Arribas et al . 2020). Group 2 shows a well‐defined negative correlation between ε 109Ag and 208 Pb/ 206 Pb.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2009), while the ε 109Ag values of Iberian galenas, although more variable, are negative (Arribas et al . 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…But, as pointed out by Fujii and Albarède (2018), the narrow range of ε 109Ag (−1 to 2 per 10 000) in silver coinage, whether minted around the Mediterranean during antiquity, in medieval or pre‐modern Europe, or in the Spanish Americas, contrasts markedly with the broad scatter of several per mil observed for potential silver ores (Arribas et al . 2020). It is remarkable that the mean ε 109Ag in silver coinage differs from the (rare) mantle values, but is indistinguishable from the value of the organic‐rich Cody Shale (Theis et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Silver isotope variation in coinage (Fujii and Albarede, 2018) is much narrower than in ores (Arribas et al, 2020;Mathur et al, 2018), which potentially allows for a high selectivity of provenance. Correlating minting ages and Pb isotopes have been able to uphold the proposition of a major shift of silver ores shortly after the Second Punic War (Albarède et al, 2020;Albarède et al, 2016) .…”

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confidence: 99%

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From commodity to money: The rise of silver coinage around the Ancient Mediterranean (sixth–first centuries bce)

Albarède¹,

Blichert‐Toft

Callataÿ

et al. 2020

Archaeometry

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The reasons why the Western Mediterranean, especially Carthage and Rome, resisted monetization relative to the Eastern Mediterranean are still unclear. Here, we address this question by combining lead and silver isotope abundances in silver coinage from the Aegean, Magna Graecia, Carthage, and the Roman Republic. The clear relationships observed between 109 Ag/ 107 Ag and 208 Pb/ 206 Pb reflect mixing of silver ores or silver objects with lead metal used for cupellation. The combined analysis of Ag and Pb isotopes reveal important information about the technology of smelting. The Greek world extracted Ag and Pb from associated ores, whereas, on the Iberian Peninsula, Carthaginians and Republican era Romans applied Phoenician cupellation techniques and added exotic Pb to lead-poor Ag ores. Massive silver re-cupellation is observed in Rome during the Second Punic War. After defeating the Carthaginians and the Macedonians in the late 2 nd century BCE, the Romans brought together the efficient, millenniumold techniques of silver extraction of the Phoenicians, who considered this metal a simple commodity, with the monetization of economy introduced by the Greeks.Silver has been highly prized in the Mediterranean and Near East region for millennia. The most obvious traces of its extraction can be seen in the contamination of ice and peat bogs all the way to the Arctic (Cortizas et al., 2002;Hong et al., 1994). The rise of monetized silver in the late 6 th and the 5 th century BCE in the Eastern Mediterranean world can be interpreted in different ways. Some consider that minting facilitated trade (Davis, 2012;Kim and Kroll, 2008), and, indeed, the abundance of shipwrecks in the Mediterranean as a proxy for economic performance correlates with lead peaks observed in Arctic ice (Parker, 1992). In the long run, however, the spread of coinage is also undoubtedly linked to the explosion of Greek mercenary service in the late 6 th -5 th centuries, but to an extent that varies with the period and the local political circumstances (De Callataÿ, 2019;Krasilnikoff, 1992; Trundle, 2004). The present work uses Ag and Pb isotopes to further inform the debate by investigating the transition between two modes of silver utilization

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2018; Arribas et al . 2020). Group 2 shows a well‐defined negative correlation between ε 109Ag and 208 Pb/ 206 Pb.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2009), while the ε 109Ag values of Iberian galenas, although more variable, are negative (Arribas et al . 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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From commodity to money: The rise of silver coinage around the Ancient Mediterranean (sixth–first centuries bce)

Albarède¹,

Blichert‐Toft

Callataÿ

et al. 2020

Archaeometry

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The formation of (Ni-Co-Sb)-Ag-As ore shoots in hydrothermal galena-sphalerite-fluorite veins

et al. 2021

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Unusual hydrothermal native As-sulfide ± native Ag ± arsenide ± antimonide ± sulfosalt ore shoots and their co-genetic sulfide-fluorite-barite-quartz host veins, which are common in the region and in whole Central Europe, were investigated at three localities in the Schwarzwald, SW Germany, to understand the physico-chemical processes governing the change from a normal (= common) hydrothermal to an exceptional ore shoot regime. Based on fluid inclusions, the formation of the gangue minerals is the result of binary mixing between a NaCl-rich brine and a CaCl2-rich brine (both ~ 20 wt% NaCl aq.). This mixing correlation, major and minor fluid composition, formation temperature (~ 150 °C), and δ34S signature are identical (within error) in ore shoots and host veins. Thermodynamic modeling indicates that ore shoot formation must have resulted from a change in redox conditions by a local influx of a volumetrically minor reducing agent, probably hydrocarbons. The elemental content and the mineralogy of each ore shoot locality (Ag-As-rich: Münstertal; Ag–Ni-As-rich: Urberg; Ag–Ni-As-Sb-rich: Wieden) reflect the metal content of the binary mixed fluid, while mineral textures, successions, and assemblages are thermodynamically and, regarding sulfur, kinetically controlled. The formation of vein and ore shoot sulfides requires an addition of sulfide, most probably from the sulfide-bearing host rocks, because thermodynamic and kinetic reasons suggest that the two major vein-forming and metal-bearing fluids are not the source of the sulfur. The final ore shoot textures are influenced by later hydrothermal remobilization processes of As and Ag. This results in a number of sulfosalts, mostly proustite-pyrargyrite. Interestingly, the greater thermodynamic stability of Sb-endmember sulfosalts enables them to form even in As-dominated fluid systems.

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Constraints on ore-forming fluid evolution and guidance for ore exploration in the Zhaxikang Sb–Pb–Zn–Ag deposit in southern Tibet: insights from silver isotope fractionation of galena

et al. 2022

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The Isotopic Composition of Silver in Ore Minerals

Cited by 22 publications

References 41 publications

From commodity to money: The rise of silver coinage around the Ancient Mediterranean (sixth–first centuries bce)

From commodity to money: The rise of silver coinage around the Ancient Mediterranean (sixth–first centuries bce)

The formation of (Ni-Co-Sb)-Ag-As ore shoots in hydrothermal galena-sphalerite-fluorite veins

Constraints on ore-forming fluid evolution and guidance for ore exploration in the Zhaxikang Sb–Pb–Zn–Ag deposit in southern Tibet: insights from silver isotope fractionation of galena

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