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c. 630-600 BCEReputable source · 2 sourcesWell documented

Lydia Strikes the First Coins

A signet-ring stamp on a lump of natural gold-silver alloy invents the coin

On the timeline · around c. 630-600 BCE · Barter and Early MoneyBarter and Early MoneyCoinage and Ancient FinanceLydia Strikes the First Coins1,250 BCE1,000 BCE750 BCE500 BCE250 BCE

Quick facts

First coins struck
c. 630 BCE, Lydia
Material
Electrum (natural gold-silver alloy)
Reforming king
Croesus, r. c. 561-546 BCE
Croesus's innovation
Separated electrum into pure gold and pure silver coins

What happened

In the Anatolian kingdom of Lydia, someone stamped a piece of electrum, a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver, with a design resembling a signet ring, creating what numismatists recognize as the first true coin. World History Encyclopedia dates this to approximately 630 BCE. Electrum's natural composition varied unpredictably from river to river, which meant its value as currency was inconsistent even after stamping. The Lydian king Alyattes issued electrum coins for roughly the next eighty years, until his son Croesus, who ruled from about 561 to 546 BCE, solved the composition problem by having Lydian metallurgists develop a process for separating electrum into pure gold and pure silver. Croesus became the first ruler to issue coins of guaranteed pure gold, alongside pure silver coins, at a fixed exchange ratio between the two metals, and minting itself progressively became an exclusive function of the state rather than something private parties could do.

Why it matters

Lydian coinage established the model nearly every later coinage system would follow: a state-guaranteed stamp certifying weight and purity, replacing the need to weigh and assay bullion for every transaction. Croesus's move to guaranteed pure-metal coins solved the trust problem that had limited electrum's usefulness, and the wealth associated with his name gave the English language the phrase 'rich as Croesus.'

How we know

Archaeological finds of early Lydian electrum coins, including a hoard excavated beneath the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, are physically dated and catalogued by numismatists, and the ancient historian Herodotus, writing in the 5th century BCE, explicitly credited the Lydians with inventing struck gold and silver coinage.

Sources

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Lydia Strikes the First Coins · History of Money · SourcedStory