Coinage -- Ancient History Encyclopedia

Definition

For the Mediterranean world, coins originated in Anatolia, with most numismatists regarding Lydia as the birthplace of coinage. The Greeks soon adopted the Lydian practice and extended it to commerce and trade, with coinage following Greek colonization and influence first around the eastern Mediterranean and soon after to North Africa including Egypt, Syria, and Persia.

The first Lydian coins were made of electrum, an alloy of silver and gold. Many early Lydian coins were undoubtedly struck (manufactured) under the authority of private individuals and are thus more akin to tokens than true coins, though because of their numbers it's evident that some were official state issues, with King Alyattes of Lydia being the most frequently mentioned originator of coinage.

Most of the early Lydian coins have no writing on them, just images of symbolic animals. Therefore the dating of these coins relies primarily on archeological evidence, with the most commonly cited evidence coming from excavations at the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, also called the Ephesian Artemision (which would later evolve into one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world).

A small percentage of early Lydian coins include writing, called a "legend" or "inscription." Another famous early electrum coin with a legend is from nearby Caria, Asia Minor, with the legend reading, "I am the badge of Phanes." Nothing is known about who Phanes was, but one logical assumption is that he was a wealthy merchant.

The earliest coins made of pure gold and silver were made by King Croesus of Lydia, son of Alyattes. Shortly afterward in the same region gold "darics" and silver "sigloi" were issued by the Achaemenid Empire of the Persians.

Based on Wikipedia content that has been reviewed, edited, and republished under the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 3.0 license. Last reviewed by Antoine Simonin on 28 April 2011. Please help and improve this definition!

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