Editing Coin (section)

==== Lydian and Ionian electrum coins (c. 600 BC)====
[[File:KINGS of LYDIA. Alyattes. Circa 620-10-564-53 BC.jpg|thumb|Coin of [[Alyattes]] of [[Lydia]], {{c.|620/10–564/53}} BC]]
[[File:Triti, Phanes, 625-600 BC, Ionia - 301224.jpg|right|thumb|The earliest inscribed coinage: [[electrum]] coin of [[Phanes (coin issuer)|Phanes]] from [[Ephesus#Archaic period|Ephesus]], 625–600 BC. Obverse: [[Stag]] grazing right, ΦΑΝΕΩΣ (retrograde). Reverse: Two incuse punches, each with raised intersecting lines.<ref name="cngcoins.com">{{cite book |title=CNG: IONIA, Ephesos. Phanes. Circa 625–600 BC. EL Trite (14mm, 4.67 g). |url=https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=301224}}</ref>]]
The earliest coins are mostly associated with [[Iron Age Anatolia]] of the late 7th century BC, and especially with the kingdom of [[Lydia]].<ref>M. Kroll, review of G. Le Rider's ''La naissance de la monnaie'', ''Schweizerische Numismatische Rundschau'' '''80''' (2001), p. 526. D. Sear, Greek Coins and Their Values Vol. 2, Seaby, London, 1979, p. 317.</ref> Early [[electrum]] coins (an alluvial alloy of gold and silver, varying wildly in proportion, and usually about 40–55% gold) were not standardized in weight, and in their earliest stage may have been ritual objects, such as badges or medals, issued by priests.<ref>[https://www.forumancientcoins.com/dannyjones/Greek%20Coin%20Books/Types%20of%20Greek%20Coins%20-%20Gardner.pdf "The Types of Greek Coins" An Archaeological Essay] (PDF) by Percy Gardner 1883 p.42 "Considering these and other facts it may be held to be probable, if not absolutely proved, that priests first issued stamped coin, and that the first mints were in Greek temples." <!-- Dead link - see new above [http://dln2.comyr.com/PDF/7682.pdf] {{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}--></ref> The unpredictability of the composition of naturally occurring electrum implied that it had a variable value, which greatly hampered its development.<ref name="WM49"/>

Most of the early Lydian coins include no writing ("myth" or "inscription"), only an image of a symbolic animal. Therefore, the dating of these coins relies primarily on archaeological evidence, with the most commonly cited evidence coming from excavations at the [[Temple of Artemis at Ephesus]], also called the Ephesian Artemision (which would later evolve into one of the [[Seven Wonders of the Ancient World]]). This was the site of the earliest known deposit of electrum coins.<ref name="cngcoins.com"/> Anatolian Artemis was the [[Potnia Theron|Πότνια Θηρῶν]] (''Potnia Thêrôn'', "Mistress of Animals"), whose symbol was the [[stag]]. It took some time before ancient coins were used for commerce and trade{{citation needed|date=July 2019}}. Even the smallest-denomination electrum coins, perhaps worth about a day's subsistence, would have been too valuable for buying a loaf of bread.<ref>"Hoards, Small Change, and the Origin of Capitalism", Journal of the Hellenistic Studies 84 (1964), p. 89</ref> Maybe the first coins to be used for retailing on a large-scale basis were likely small silver fractions, Hemiobol, [[Ancient Greek coinage]] minted by the [[Ionians|Ionian Greeks]] in the late sixth century BC.<ref>M. Mitchiner, Ancient Trade and Early Coinage, Hawkins Publications, London, 2004, p. 214</ref>

In contrast [[Herodotus]] mentioned the innovation made by the Lydians:<ref name="WM49"/>
{{blockquote|So far as we have any knowledge, they [the Lydians] were the first people to introduce the use of gold and silver coins, and the first who sold goods by retail.|Herodotus, I94<ref name="WM49"/>}}
And both [[Aristotle]] (fr. 611,37, ed. V. Rose) and [[Julius Pollux|Pollux]] (Onamastikon IX.83), mention that the first issuer of coinage was [[Hermodike II|Hermodike/Demodike of Cyme]].<ref name="Muscarella"/> [[Cyme (Aeolis)|Cyme]] was a city in [[Aeolis|Aeolia]], nearby Lydia.
{{blockquote|Another example of local pride is the dispute about coinage, whether the first one to strike it was Pheidon of Argos, or Demodike of Kyme (who was wife of Midas the Phrygian and daughter of King Agammemnon of Kyme), or Erichthonios and Lycos of Athens, or the Lydians (as Xenophanes says) or the Naxians (as Anglosthenes thought).|Julius Pollux, Onamastikon IX.83<ref name="Muscarella">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5AOw0GB0zHsC&q=%22Another+example+of+local+pride+is+the+dispute%22&pg=PA705|title = Archaeology, Artifacts and Antiquities of the Ancient Near East: Sites, Cultures, and Proveniences|isbn = 978-9004236691|last1 = Muscarella|first1 = Oscar White|date = 15 June 2013| publisher=BRILL }}</ref>}}
Many early Lydian and Greek coins were minted under the authority of private individuals and are thus more akin to tokens or badges than to modern coins,<ref>G. Hanfmann, pp. 73, 77. R. Seaford, p. 128, points out, "The nearly total lack of … coins in the excavated commercial-industrial areas of Sardis suggests that they were concentrated in the hands of the king and possibly wealthy merchants."</ref> though due to their numbers it is evident that some were official state issues. The earliest inscribed coins are those of [[Phanes (coin issuer)|Phanes]], dated to 625–600 BC from [[Ephesus]] in [[Ionia]], with the legend ΦΑΕΝΟΣ ΕΜΙ ΣHΜΑ (or similar) ("I am the badge/sign/mark of Phanes/light") or just bearing the name ΦΑΝΕΟΣ ("of Phanes").

The first electrum coins issued by a monarch are those minted by king [[Alyattes of Lydia]] (died {{Circa|560 BC}}), for which reason this king is sometimes mentioned as the originator of coinage.<ref>A. Ramage, "Golden Sardis", King Croesus' Gold: Excavations at Sardis and the History of Gold Refining, edited by A. Ramage and P. Craddock, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 2000, p. 18.</ref>