4. In Spartan Constitution, the issuance of coinage was forbidden to discourage pursuit of material wealth. Instead of gold or silver, Spartans used iron obols (bars or spits), which were meant to encourage self-sufficiency and maintain focus on preparation for war. First-century historian, Plutarch, said Lycurgus commanded, “Money made of iron should be current, a great weight and quantity of which was but very little worth.”
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