2020-06-01 Mon

Lydian Lion coins were made of Electrum alloy. Electrum is a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver. It is considered to be one of the oldest coins in the world. These coins origin can be traced in ancient Greek coinage. It was minted by Alyettes of Lydia kingdom which is located in modern-time at western Turkey. It is most commonly believed that they emerged under the reign of King Alyattes, who ruled Lydia 610- 550 BCE.

The coin is featured with a roaring lion and a bull which seems to be bowing down. The lion was the emblem of Lydia kingdom. It is possible that Lydian people were the first merchants and were engaged in commercial activities. Even Herodotus said that Lydians were the first one to use silver and gold coins and to establish a permanent retail office for trade.

The specimen of the coin is found in the British Museum. The study of coins is related with the economics of the time and minting technologies.

Image Courtesy: Oldest.org