Early coins

All western histories of coins were invented at some time slightly before or after 700 BC, in
Aegina Island,[1] or, according to others, in Ephesus, Lydia, 650 BC.[2] Ancient India in circa 6th
century BC, was one of the earliest issuers of coins in the world.[3]

Double-die style struck coin from Ancient India, c 304-232 BC featuring an elephant on one face
and a lion on the other.

Since that time, coins have been the most universal embodiment of money. These first coins
were made of electrum, a naturally occurring pale yellow mixture of gold and silver that was
further alloyed with silver and copper.

However, the Persian daric was the first gold coin which, along with a similar silver coin, the
siglos, (From Ancient Greek σίγλος, Hebrew ‫( שֶׁ קֶׁ ל‬shékel))represented the bimetallic monetary
standard of the Achaemenid Persian Empire which has continued till today.[4]Also, the Persian
coins were very well known in the Persian and Sassanids era. Most notably, in Susa and in
Ctesiphon.

Some of the most famous and widely collected coins of antiquity are Roman coins and Greek
coins.
The Byzantine Empire minted many coins (see Byzantine currency), including very thin gold
coins bearing the image of the Christian cross and various Byzantine emperors.

A tomb of the Chinese Shang Dynasty dating back to the 11th century BC shows what may be
the first cast copper money Tong Bei. Coinage was in widespread use by the Warring States
period and the Han Dynasty.

Some of the earliest coins were beaten at the edges to imitate the shape of a cow, in indication of
their value. Most coins are circular but some were rectangular. Also a lot of coins, especially in
China had a hole through the center so they could be tied on to a string.

Among the earliest coins to be made purely from silver and gold were the silver Dirham and gold
Dinar in the early Islamic Caliphate from the 7th century.

Silver and gold coins are the most common and universally recognized throughout history, even
today. Mints around the world still make millions of gold and silver coins, including the
Canadian Silver Maple Leaf, the American Gold Eagle, and the Australian Nugget. Copper,
nickel, and other metals are also common, but in lower denominations.

Minting technologies
Main article: History of mints

Coins were first made of scraps of metal. Ancient coins were produced through a process of
hitting a hammer positioned over an anvil. The Chinese produced primarily cast coinage, and this
spread to South-East Asia and Japan. Relatively few non-Chinese cast coins were produced by
governments, however it was a common practice amongst counterfeiters. Since the early 18th
century and before, presses (normally referred to as mills in coin collecting circles) have been
used in the west, beginning with screw presses and progressing in the 19th century towards
steam driven presses. The first of these presses were developed in France and Germany, and
quickly spreading to Britain. Modern minting techniques use electric and hydraulic presses.

The type of mintage method (being hammered, milled or cast) does limit the materials which can
be used for the coin. For example, antimony coins, (which are very rare) are nearly always cast
examples, because of the brittle nature of the metal, and thus it would break if deformed, which
is a key part of the milling and hammering process.