1/3 stater, Jonien, -0600
How did coins become money?
In the 7th century BC, people in Lydia started paying with stamped pieces of the metal electrum - a mixture of gold and silver. To guarantee the value of the metal pieces, the king's symbol was stamped on them, first a deer and later a lion. The Lydians' stamped pieces of metal were probably the world's first coins, which in time revolutionised what money could be.
