World of Money, History of Money

Money has been used in different forms all over the world for over 5,000 years. Uses and forms far in the past and in distant lands may not always be obvious to us. We can define money by seeing how it is used or by looking at all the different forms it has taken.

Lydia and the First Electrum Coins

The Greek historian Herodotus, writing in the 5th century BC famously stated that 'the Lydians were the first people we know to have struck and used coinage of silver and gold.' He is almost correct. The earliest coins were in fact made from electrum, an alloy of gold and silver but, on the evidence of their findspots, do seem to belong to this part of the world. These coins had a design on one side only. On the other, simple punches were used.

World of Money, History of Money