In the frame of a project to determine the provenance of ancient silver, lead isotope measurements and trace element analyses are used to determine the sources of archaic Greek coinage. In this study Athenian silver, which almost exclusively derives from the Laurion area in the south-east of Attica, is regarded as a model. It has been shown earlier that low contents of Cu, Sb, Au, and Bi are characteristic for archaic silver coins minted in Athens. The analytical results for these elements, obtained by neutron activation and atomic absorption spectrometry, and for Mn, Fe, Zn, As, Ag, Cd, and Pb in mixed sulfide ores from Laurion are presented. Ag is strongly correlated with Sb and probably occurs as solid solution of miargyrit in galena. The Au/Ag ratios in the ores are generally lower than in Athenian coins, but the ranges of the Au/Ag ratios in ores and coins largely overlap. Since the Au/Ag ratio does not change appreciably in the production process it certainly is the most useful chemical index of ore source and an important supplement of the lead isotope measurements. Of the other elements mainly Bi may be of use in discriminating ore sources, while the contents of Cu and Sb in the silver seem to be mainly governed by the production technology.