The origins of coinage
Lydia and the earliest coins
According to the Greek
historian Herodotus, writing in the fifth century BC, the Lydians
were the first people to have used gold and silver coinage.
He was almost correct. The earliest coins are found mainly in
the parts of modern Turkey that formed the ancient kingdom of
Lydia, but are made from a naturally occurring mixture of gold and
silver called electrum.
These coins were first produced in the seventh century BC
and had a design on one side only; the other was marked with
simple punches.
A Strict weight system
Although irregular in size and shape, these
early electrum coins were minted according to a strict
weight-standard. The denominations ranged from one stater
(weighing about 14.1 grams) down through half-staters, thirds,
sixths, twelfths, 1/24ths and 1/48ths to 1/96th stater (about
0.15gm).
It cannot have been easy to tell some of the
smaller denominations apart. We must assume that for many
transactions the coins were weighed rather than counted.
The spread of electrum coinage
From Lydia electrum coinage soon spread to the
Greek cities of coastal Asia Minor. From there it reached the
Greeks of the islands and the mainland.
It is often difficult to tell where a
particular coin was produced, because none of these early coins was
inscribed with a place-name. Educated guesses are possible,
however. One type of coin has the design of a seal on its obverse.
The Greek for seal is 'phoce' and the coins are usually attributed
to the Greek city of Phocaea.
Names on electrum coins
Some of the earliest Lydian electrum coins are
inscribed with names in ancient Lydian script. Two individuals are
known: Walwel and Kalil. It is unclear whether these are names of
kings or just rich men who produced the earliest coins.
The earliest legend in Greek on an electrum
coin reads 'I am the badge of Phanes'. We cannot be certain who
this Phanes was, but it seems that he was placing his badge on
coins as a guarantee 
of their
quality.
The earliest coin hoard
The earliest known hoard of electrum coins (and thus the
earliest known coin hoard) was found during the British Museum
excavations of the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus in 1904-5. The
hoard consisted of 19 coins which had been placed in a small pot
and buried alongside another 74 coins in the foundations of the
temple, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, in about 600
BC.
More information about objects featured here (from
top)