From
the time the primeval fires of mankind were kindled, man used
a system of barter. With the development of civilization, a
medium exchange was sought, whether the economy was a market
economy or based on redistribution by a central authority. Direct
barter was often inconvenient, particularly when goods or services
were neither needed nor desired by one of the parties. A standard
value, as a medium of exchange and convenient store of wealth,
was developed using a negotiable instrument desired by all.
This varied from one primitive culture to another and consisted
of such objects often failed to suffice - for example, cattle
could not easily be transported great distances without abundant
water and grazing, and would be susceptible to weight and stock
loss on long journey. More over, animals were not conveniently
divisible for making minor payments, and barter was unsuitable
for financing armies and levying taxes. Metals as a currency,
evolved in the form of ingots, rings, spits and various cast
shapes, but these objects were not ideal. They were later made
more practical by applying specific standards of weight and
purity to them.
The
interaction of human agency, cultural fusion and prosperity
has throughout the ages been instrumental in the creation of
great civilizations. In the ancient world the degree of sophistication
in these societies was remarkable. It was probably the increasingly
complex activities of Lydia in Asia Minor (Turkey), with Greek
Ionia and her other trading partners, that precipitated the
introduction of coinage around 650 BC, when it is believed the
first coins were struck. Through the democratization of money
via personal inventive to the industrious, individual freedom
from rigid domination was made possible. The need arose for
a medium of exchange that was easily portable, of intrinsically
valuable metal, with fixed weight and fineness, bearing the
inscription and/or device of responsible authority stamped on
it. This new economic weapon was to have profound effect on
history. Through coinage, trade was often conducted on a large
scale over vast distances. Herodotus, the Greek historian, recorded
about 430 BC, "So far as we have any knowledge they (the Lydians)
were the first nation to introduce the use of gold and silver
coins." However, the earliest coins known were not made of gold
or silver but of electrum, a pale natural alloy of both these
metals, believed to be a separate metal. Electrum, washed downstream
form Mount Tmolus, was found in the silt deposits of the Pactolus
and Hermus riverbeds at Sardis, Lydia's capital. Electrum was
also mined from the inland Tmolus mountain range and at Mount
Sipylus near the coast. Herodotus may have been referring to
the later coinage of the Lydian King Croesus (560 - 546 BC).
He noted that the white gold (electrum bricks dedicated by the
Lydians at Delphi) of similar dimensions to the yellow gold,
weighed less. This observations was correct, electrum being
less dense than gold. The archaeological levels on this site,
pinpointed the date of their minting to around 600 BC. -->
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