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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;AncientJoe, post: 3348628, member: 44357&quot;]I had the same reaction when first learning about ancient coins but it is indeed the case. What we consider a coin only dates to somewhere in the 660 BC range. These aren&#039;t dated via carbon dating but rather by where they were found. Happily, as buildings were constructed, it was common practice to place an &quot;emission deposit&quot; for the building&#039;s good fortune which included coins. The construction of major ancient temples is fairly well understood chronologically which was able to establish a starting date for several types of electrum coinage, although there is still some ambiguity.</p><p><br /></p><p>Striated electrum is often thought to have preceded the Lydian coinage. They circulated contemporaneously and these designs are definitely more simplistic so it&#039;s possible they came first (~660 BC), although there is a fair amount of active research ongoing in this area.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]886705[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>The next evolution was the coinage of Phanes as posted above. It is not known who Phanes was or if it was a person but they put the first letters on coins:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]886707[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>The next progression was the coinage of Lydia. While remaining a topic of debate by some, this type is now commonly considered to be the first official coin, meeting all of the requirements laid out in the dictionary definition: it is the first coin to have certified markings which signify a specific exchange value and be issued by a governmental authority for use as money. Earlier coins like the striated and geometric types failed to clearly meet the final criteria, whereas the lion was consistently associated with Lydia.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]886708[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>Up until now, coinage was still struck in electrum, an alloy of gold and silver. It took until Croesus (of &quot;Rich as Croesus&quot; fame) to create bimetallic currency, starting with this heavy gold stater:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]886709[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>It is fascinating that ancient Egypt only used bartering for thousands of years of their existence. Their first real ancient coin was minted under Pharoah Nektenebo II in 361 BC. That&#039;s closer to modern day than the first pyramids.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]886710[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>There is ample ongoing research in this field, especially awaiting the publication of the new &quot;White Gold&quot; book which should set the record straight on several misconceptions (i.e. electrum being only a naturally occurring alloy is incorrect: they controlled the ratio of silver/gold to increase profit margins).[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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