A little wonder, every day

Some of the earliest coins were made of electrum

A reconstructed early electrum mint scene showing a small alloy coin weighed on a balance; no specific known coin is depicted.

obverse and reverse of an electrum trite of Alyattes of Lydia, Sardes mint, approx. 620/610–564/553 BCE. The source describes it as among the earliest firmly attributed Lydian issues; attribution and chronology remain debated.

Lydian coin, sixth century BCE, identified by the photographer as part of the Pergamonmuseum collection in Berlin.

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A reconstructed early electrum mint scene showing a small alloy coin weighed on a balance; no specific known coin is depicted.

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Some of the earliest known coins were made in western Asia Minor around the seventh century BCE. They were struck from electrum, an alloy of gold and silver, and produced to standardized weights. A piece of metal could then be weighed and recognized by its stamped mark. The exact place and date of the very first coins remain debated: early finds are associated with both Lydia and Ionian cities. It is therefore safer to speak of early coinage in this region than of one undisputed “first coin.”