Bronze ring-shaped wealth

Neues Museum

Material: Bronze

Date: 12th century BCE

Origin: Lengyeltóti, Somogy County, Hungary

This display features a hoard of coiled bronze rings, known as “ring-shaped wealth.” These objects served both as valuable metal stock and as a medium of exchange in the Bronze Age economy. Their standardized forms and weights made them ideal for trade, while their portability allowed wealth to be easily transported or stored. The greenish patina visible on the surface is the result of long-term oxidation of the copper alloy. Such rings could also be melted down and repurposed for crafting tools, weapons, or other metal goods, reflecting the cyclical nature of metal use in prehistoric societies.

Museum label reference:

Bronze rings were easily transportable stores of value used in trade and could also be remelted for producing other objects.

Original Text:

“Bronzeringe waren gut zu transportierende Werte im Tauschverkehr und konnten zudem zur Herstellung anderer Gegenstände leicht wieder eingeschmolzen werden.”

Supplementary images:

Bronze ring-shaped wealth, Lengyeltoti, Hungary, 12th Century BC

Taken on Tuesday 06th of August 2019

Device: Google

Model: Pixel 3 XL

Genre: 12th Century BC

Source: Berlin, Germany

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