electrum coin

Some 600 years before Christ was born mankind started using electrum as a form of payment. This was in exchange for good and services. Ancient man found electrum in riverbeds. They were in nugget form, but it wasn't long before the very first coins were produced. This is how and when electrum was first used as coinage.

These earliest coins known in the ancient world were created from this naturally occurring alloy called electrum, as a result of a mixture of gold and silver. It also often found containing other trace elements like platinum, copper and other metals. These alloys give off a shiny property that easily catches the rays of the sun. A variety of colors could be found to range from pale yellows to bright greens. Occasionally, even a brassy-color due to higher copper

The first coins ever made were of a substance called electrum. Ancient Electrum Coinage of Cyzicus could be found occurring naturally along riversides in ancient times. Importantly, electrum contained gold and silver, with trace amounts of copper and other metals. It was bright and had such a white color to it that ancient Greeks who found it called it "white gold." Moreover, there were several types of electrum depending on the amount of gold and the different alloys it contained. Electrum could range in color from a bright white yellow a greenish tone. Adding Cadmium, which is highly toxic, to the gold turned it to a green color. The ancient Lydians who discovered this also realized the health concerns regarding its use.

Cyzicus Electrum Choice Very Fine Stater

An example