The special thing about introducing this brand new series following along with Whitman Publishing’s 100 Greatest Ancient Coins is the way they chose to present the coins. Traditionally, these top 100 books start with number one and maintain numerical order throughout. This series starts with the earliest coins first regardless of their rank within the voted on top 100. Instead of selecting randomly, we will be following along, with the help of author Harlan J. Berk, just as the publication is laid out. Without further ado, let us get started.
#81 – Ionia Electrum Stater (Asia Minor – Circa 650 BC)
This coin marks the very beginning of coinage. While its genesis can be debated, most officials believe that 650 BC is a plausible estimation for when the very first object to be considered a true coin emerged. Societies operated without coinage long before that time as civilizations had existed in Mesopotamia and Egypt. However, within those hierarchical systems of government, the transfer of goods was controlled mostly by the state, and the bartering and weighing systems of metal happened so little when it came to transactions of individuals that they were able to get by.
This was vastly different than the societal operations of the Lydians and Greeks. They were far less restrictive as individuals could control trade, creating a type of commerce obligated to have an accessible and stable form of exchange. Around 650 BC, a system with standardized weights was created and lumps of standard weight began to surface.
These new standardized coins proved to be successful, and their presence became recognizable, especially after the obverse designs evolved. Reverse designs would begin to emerge and replace older incused punch marks. Regardless of whether the government or the people were involved in the first issuing of coins, the government would take over their production and everything it took to develop them.
Electrum, a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver, was used in the earliest creation of coins. Ultimately, coins would be made of pure silver and sometimes pure gold, replacing electrum. Denominationally speaking, the stater was at the top, followed by the ½ stater, 1/3 stater, 1/6 stater, 1/12 stater, and more until it ended with the 1/96 stater. The first coins were type less and had a featureless obverse and a plain punch on the reverse.
Soon after the type less appeared, punches and rough surfaces emerged such as on the Ionia stater. Once this happened, the reverse would also begin to change and move beyond the three incused punches seen on this Ionia. Over the next 100 years, local mints would start putting images on coins. They would, over time, become more artistic and embellished, eventually leading into what is now the familiar portraiture and sociopolitical representations that are now on coins.