Early issuer of stamped coins; whether a specific king ordered the first issue is uncertain
Plate 018
c. 650–600 BCE
Lydia, western Anatolia
No photograph is shown for this exhibition. The museum displays an image only where it can show the object honestly.
About this date
The earliest stamped electrum coins found in Lydia (in present-day western Turkey) are dated by their archaeological context. The exact date and first issuer are debated.
About credit
Electrum coins from Lydia are often called the first. Coinage also developed independently in China, where cast bronze coins appear in the first millennium BCE.
Chapter II
The world before
Life before Coinage
Exchange used barter or lumps of metal that had to be weighed and tested each time.
II
The human achievement
How it came about
Lydian rulers issued small lumps of electrum, a natural gold-silver alloy, stamped with a design that guaranteed their weight. Greek cities soon issued silver coins with their own emblems. China developed cast bronze coins independently.
III
Understanding the invention
How it works
Coinage, explained in two steps.
01
Step 01 of 02
Weight and stamp
The design on a coin represented an issuer vouching for its weight and metal content.
Weight and stamp
Small denominations
IV
The transformation
What changed for humanity
Markets
Everyday buying and selling became easier, and markets grew.
States
Rulers could tax, pay armies and spread their emblems across a territory.
Coinage made trade quicker and more trusting, helped states collect taxes and pay soldiers, and spread the idea that value could be guaranteed by an institution.
V
Before and after
Life before and after Coinage
Before
Weighing out metal and testing it.
After
Counting out pieces already guaranteed.
On larger screens, drag the divider (or use the arrow keys) to give more room to the world before or after.
