The Gold Coin

Gold Coin: Understanding The Evolution Of Currencies All Over The World

In the older times, people do not really use any form of currency to buy what they need. People in the past just trade their goods at the market place. For instance, people from the uplands would trade their grains for products of the sea. As the years pass, people learned the value of currency and how money can be used as instrument to purchase goods and services. Since gold has always been considered as a valuable commodity, people in the past minted gold coins and use these gold coins to purchase goods and services.

Evolution Of Gold Coins

The gold coins were first introduced between 643-630 BC by the Lydian King Croesus. At that time, the people used electrum, a pale yellow mixture of silver and gold that occurs naturally in the Lydia. People at that time still do not know how to separate gold and silver so the first gold coin was actually a mixture of silver and gold.

Around 560 B.C., the people of Lydia learned how to separate gold from silver thus they the first real gold coins came into being. While manufacturing gold coins, the Lydians also started to produce silver coins. The silver coins are considered of lesser value than the gold coins so most of rich people in the kingdom used the golden coins while the working class mostly used silver.

In 546 B.C King Croeseus was captured the Persian army. As the Persians went through the kingdom of Lydia, they discovered the gold coins. According to history, the Persians were amazed at how the people of Lydia mints gold coins that they decided to learn the trade as well. Since the Persians also considered gold as a very precious metal, the Persians soon adopted the use of gold coins. 

Persia was considered as one of the most progressive nations in the olden times so the use of the golden coin spread faster to other areas of the world. For the next several years, gold coins played a vital role in the area of commerce. People from all over the world uses gold in acquiring good and services.

The use of gold coins continued until 1933. Countries all over the world found it too expensive to use gold coins are part of their currency that the production of the gold coins for general circulation purposed were stopped. At present, there are still some countries that use gold-colored coins that these coins no longer contain gold.