Coinage was electrum coins dday invasion in the seventh century BCE in the Black Sea region northeast of Greece, where the alluvial flow of gold and silver mixed together yeilded the metal known as electrum. Gold and Silver had been used by the earliest Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations as a store of wealth, and a medium of trade. But this naturally occuring electrum was first coined by the kings of Lydia, Miletos, Ephesos, Phokia, and then Lesbos and Kyzykos.
These coins undoubtedly were responsible for a boom in trade both between city-states, and in the electrum coins dday invasion escalation of local markets. Herodutus famously referred to the Lydians as a nation of shopkeepers. The largest unit of trade was the "Stater" which was a electrum coins dday invasion of the semitic "Shekel," a unit of weight used in the semitic East.
Weights varied from between 14 and 16 grams according to local standards. These staters were broken down into trites thirds hektes sixths and various smaller units. Croesus of Lydia electrum coins dday invasion the first king to separate the electrum to issue gold and silver coins circa BCE. He was conquered by Cyrus of Persia. Coinage spread quickly in the early fifth century BCE through the Greek city states.
Most of the trade coinage was silver, while gold was electrum coins dday invasion often reserved for emergency issues associated with war. Electrum coins dday invasion greatest invention of Western History is undoubtedly Alphbetic writing, without which there would not be western history. It was invented by the Phoencians in about BCE. By the late eighth century this writing had spread through the entire fertile crescent, up into the Black Sea Region and down into Greece.
Alphabetic writing enabled private citizens to record, account for, and contractualize transactions; and private Phoenician traders dominated the Mediterranean. Previously all transactions had to be recorded by State sanctioned Scribes and all trade was controlled by the Royal Houses.
The Kings of Lydia, most probably Ardys or Allyates eventually made use of this writing in combination with the image of the Lion, symbol of the Royal House, to invent the first coinage. They used Electrum, a naturally electrum coins dday invasion gold and silver alloy found in the River Patroclus, though more recent studies have suggested that they intentionally fabricated the electrum. The innovation of coinage enabled the Private Citizen to amass, store and preserve wealth in the form of money.
It is certainly no coincidence that the Athenians, who adopted, and in many respects perfected, the systems of Alphabetic Language and Bimetallic Currency using Kyzikene electrum staters for gold and Athenian Owls for silversoon after invented Democracy - the system of Government that for the first time in human history honored the power Kratos of the Private Citizen Demos over that of the Autocratic or Plutacratic State.
SNG Von Auluck Very Sharp strike with clear letters and clean surfaces. An altogether superior example of electrum coins dday invasion rare issue, and of the highest historical electrum coins dday invasion. EL Trite — Third Stater 4.
A fascinating and very rare issue from the dawn of coinage. T his type comes from a small horde of about 25 trites along with smaller denominations and a very few larger denominations.
Before this, the type was known electrum coins dday invasion a very few edamples. The horde was well preserved and though the trites receive varying grades they are all basically "As made. T he entire horde has been electrum coins dday invasion recently, But like the striated horde and the geometric horde it will be quickly absorbed. EL Trite — Third Stater 13mm, 4. Extremely Rare Mint State example. Only five mint state examples recorded in the recent NGC report - and none graded higher.
Though electrum coinage seems to have been invented in Lydia, the surrounding Black Sea States of Miletos, Ephesus, Phokaea, Lesbos, Erythraea and Samos all produced electrum coinage, though none in comparable surviving quantities to that of Electrum coins dday invasion. The earliest pieces from mints such as Miletos, Ephesos and other unidentified cities in the Black Sea area known as Ionia date from about BCE according to archeologival evidence as recorded from celebrated digs such as those funded by the British Museum.
These dates have been challenged along purely speculative lines by modern numismatic theorists, using aesthetic die studies etc arguments to support dates ranging from - BCE. There is a visceral antipathy between archealogists and numismatists, so that the evidence brought by one group will be dismissed out of hand by the other. There is agreement that the celebrated electrum coinage of Kyzikos served as electrum coins dday invasion reserve currency throughout the Greek World and were treated as though they wee Gold.
It seems probable that Electrum Staters from other City States throughout the region began in competition with the Kyzikene Staters probably in the mide Seventh Century but, with the exception of Lampsakos, by the middle of the Sixth Century most has been eclipsed by the Kyzikene Staters. Amongst the finest examples of this very rare issue, and one of the very few extant examples with a well struck horse around which the lotus-rosette motif is clearly visible on the flan.
The reverse punches bear marked resemblance to the lion staters of Miletos. Fischer-Bossert speculates that the lotus and rosette motif must derive from Persian rule which began in about BCE. Yet this neglects the fact that these motifs are common to the Siva-Dionysiac religion electrum coins dday invasion existed in this region centuries earlier. Whatever the case, these symbols are peculiar to this issue at this eartly date and as such are of tremendous fascination.
EL Stater 22mm, Lion reclining left, its head reverted. A remarkably detailed and complete lion in a state of preservation entirely exceptional for this rare and usually degraded issue. Far superior to any example listed in coin archives.
EL Hekte — Sixth Stater 2. SNG Kayhan —8 var. SNG von Aulock var. Boston MFA —7 var. Very rare variety of superior style: With the lion skin having electrum coins dday invasion rays emanating from its forehead and snout, much like the earlier electrum coinage issued by the Lydian kings. Pegasus is an entirley Greek image which encompasses the Greek notion of "Becoming" - which is to say that which is changing as opposed to that which is unchanging.
This is a dialectic that informs the work of the greatest Greek philolophers from Heraclitus to Parmenides to Socrates. The Gorgon Medusa is initially a beautiful girl who bewitches Poseidon. Poseidon rapes her in the temple of Athena. Enraged, Athena turns Medusa into a hideous creature whose gaze turns all to stone. When Medusa is slain by Perseus, Pegasus springs from Medusa's neck, completing the circle of change from beautiful to hideous and back to beautiful.
The first numismatic image appears on the coinage of Lampsakos shortly thereafter. Pegasus remains electrum coins dday invasion the badge of Lampsokos for the next three hundred years. The archaic pegasus on the electrum stater below displays a circular fluidity that perfectly encompasses the idea of "Becoming" in a way that is lost in later images.
A beautiful example of this quitessentially Greek image. Perfectly centered and struck on a electrum coins dday invasion round flan with a beatuful tone. The vast majority of this early issue are poorly struck and centered.
The electrum coins dday invasion of Zeus becomes the symbol of royalty in western culture, and Zeus' Eagle electrum coins dday invasion the symbol of Imperial Power in empires throughout western history from Rome to the United States. EL stater 22mm, Rare and exceptionally well-struck and centered on a broad flan, with smooth surfaces. Among the finest surviving specimensm and certainly one of the most dramatic electrum images.
Striking Archaic lion, roughly contemporary to the early Lions of Lydia and Miletos, though considerably more serene. Perfectly centered and struck on a broad clean flan. Among the finest known for this issue. There is no doubt that the first wave of settlers who conquered Crete and then Greece were Siva-worshipping fertililty cultists from the Indus Valley as early as BCE.
The Dionyisiac religion was later incorporated into the Sky-God religion of the Aryan speaking tribes that flooded into Macedonia and then Greece in waves starting around BCE. The Hekte below bears a portrait of Silenos: Dionysus' alter ego, portayed with a clear Third Eye in the middle of his forehead - linking Dionysus direclty to Siva. This very rare archaic masterpiece clearly demonstrates the importance of coinage as documentation of an era from which very little writing has survived.
Around BCE the Persian king Darios I decided to inaugurate a gold coinage bearing his own types, rather than continuing to use those of Kroisos of Lydia. These new coins, called Darics meaning, literally, 'Of the King' - the same LMLK inscription that traveled from the fertile crescent to Lydia - bore a generalized portrait of the Persian electrum coins dday invasion.
The earliest, which employs an image of the King shooting an arrow, is very rare; though a tiny horde has been recently discovered. This coin financed Darios' war with Greece.
Later types must have been produced in enormous numbers, and were surely the reserve currency' of the 5th and 4th centuries BCE. Darius I - ca. Beautiful, fully centered and well detailed example. Extremely rare, especially in this condition. The small horde of about 20 specimens that hit the market in have long since been absorbed. A very rare variety of a rare type. The reverse is from an issue that had been inscribed with a lion's head, though the lion's head electrum coins dday invasion been erased prior to this strike.
A small horde of 'dagger darics' was discovered over 10 years ago and no new specimens have been recorded since. AV daric 15mm, 8. Perfectly centered, fully struck, lustroussuperior example: XXV, 24; Sunrise 39 corr.
Very Rare late type perfectly centered with superb style, far more fluid and elegant and much rarer than the earlier 'fine style" type. Attributed to the Sardes mint, but the striated reverse and fluid style is reminiscent of the Alexandrine darics from the Babylon mint. Democracy, Philosophy, Tragedy, Comedy, Rhetoric. It is currently fashionable to view the Greeks as "Anthropomorphic Polytheists. We can see through this quote that a very specific idea of Human Intelligence is as central to Greek religion as to its art and institutions.
Athena was Goddess of Wisdom.
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