ANS Crowns Lydia as Minter of First Coins

Discovery News reported that according to a research report by the American Numismatic Society, the city-state of Lydia, part of modern Turkey, minted the first coins as part of a politically driven need to protect its economy after years of war against the Cimmerians, who invaded Lydia about 657 B.C., and were finally expelled by King Alyattes (610-560 B.C.).

According to the hypothesis of the ANS report, the wars apparently exhausted much of the supply of electrum -- a naturally occurring mixture of gold and silver -- known to have been found in the Pactolus River. The shortage led Lydians to over-value any lumps of electrum. To maximize the quantities discovered, the metal was further diluted with silver, hardened, and colored with copper.

To reassure citizens of the value of these hybrid electrum slugs, the government devised a scheme to stamp a visible symbol of authenticity on each. As a result, the world's first coins are said to have been created.

This hypothesis also helps explain why the circulation of the Lydian coins seems to be restricted to areas under the government's political control.

For more, see Lydia's First Coins.