Lycurgus – The Spartan Monetary System and Wealth
Lycurgus began with a decree that all gold and silver coinage was outlawed and all Spartan coins must be made of iron. He made the coin units low value and heavy so they were difficult to store and transport. He had the hot iron doused with vinegar to make the metal weak and fragile.
This caused crime to disappear from Sparta, because who would steal, rob, or plunder something that could not be hidden, envied, or melted down into anything? All useless alien crafts disappeared because there was no sale for their products, since the iron money could not be used anywhere else in Greece.