The Early Coinage
Coinage developed in western Asia Minor (present-day Turkey) around the middle of the seventh century BC. It was characterised by adherence to a recognised weight standard and system of denominations, and was stamped by an issuing authority – usually a state – to guarantee its value within the area of influence of that authority.
An important feature of the earliest coins is that they were made of electrum, an alloy of gold and silver that can occur in nature. The invention of coinage was apparently spurred by the deficiency of alluvial electrum as a medium of exchange. Its variable gold content, ranging from around 65% to 85%, implied an unreliable intrinsic value, resulting in the testing with a touchstone of the electrum in its bullion form every time it changed hands.
When electrum took the form of a coin, the device of the issuing authority guaranteed its face value.
Early electrum hemistater struck in Asia Minor, late seventh to early sixth century BC. 7.21g. (actual size: 16x11mm).
Electrum remained the sole monetary metal until the mid-sixth century BC, and its rarity outside western Asia Minor limited the production and use of coinage to the region.
According to Herodotus, the king of Lydia Kroisos (circa 560-546 BC) was the first one to strike both silver and gold coins. Quickly the bimetallic coinage spread around the Mediterranean area, and very soon all the powerful cities had their own coinage. They invited the best artists of the time to design the dies that were made to strike the coins.
1/3 gold stater of Kroisos, 560-546 BC. 2.67g. (actual size: 11x7mm).
The Spread of The Gold Coinage
In order to finance its military campaigns, Alexander the Great (336-323 BC) introduced a new gold coinage featuring the head of Athena and a representation of Victory. This coinage was issued in massive quantities from mints established throughout the vast areas eventually conquered and was widely imitated by various people around the Mediterranean.
Alexander was the first ruler in economic history to create a standard type equal in fineness and weight throughout the whole empire. This first attempt to unify coinage was then adopted by the Romans and the subsequent civilisations.
This coin can be considered as the ancestor of modern bullion coins.
Gold stater of Alexander the Great, circa 330-320 BC. 8.56g. (actual diameter: 18.9mm).
During the Roman Empire, precious metals served primarily to pay the troops, and the issue of gold coins was under the direct control of the emperor. The Roman engravers produced an impressive portrait gallery, not only of Roman emperors but also of members other families, such as sisters, mothers and fathers.
Gold aureus of Roman Emperor Septimius Severus showing the Circus Maximus, circa 202- 210 AD. 7.07g. (actual diameter: 20mm).
The end of the Western imperial Roman coinage is considered to be at the fall of the last Roman Emperor, Romulus Augustus, in 476 AD. It’s not until the 13th century when one can once again see a representative gold coinage, with the enormous rise of trade in the Mediterranean. The two most popular coins were the ducat of Venice and the gold florin of Florence.
The first gold coin of Venice: the ducat of Doge Giovanni Dandolo, 1280-1289. 3.52g. (actual diameter: 19mm).
Gold florin of Florence, 1440. 3.53g. (actual diameter: 21mm).
The Next and Longest Lasting Trading Coin Was Born in 1489: The Gold Sovereign
The Birth of The Gold Sovereign
On 28 October 1489, King Henry VII (1485-1509) instructed the officers of his Royal Mint to strike a new gold coin. Twenty shillings or one pound in value, this spectacular ‘new money’ was the largest gold coin yet issued in England and also the most beautiful.
Bearing designs of majestic splendour and named a sovereign, it was deliberately intended as part of the trappings of the rising Tudor dynasty. It was the first pound coin, even though the pound sterling had been a unit of account for centuries.
The first gold sovereign in history, issued during the reign of King Henry VII. 15.55g. (actual diameter: 41mm).
In the acting world of the time of William Shakespeare, the gold sovereign was famed as the coin of choice to be honoured with when the Queen Elizabeth I attended a performance personally. Traditionally, the Queen would honour the playwright and the star of the show with her favour by presenting them with a gold sovereign. Such a coin of honour was highly revered and was cherished for the lifetime of the recipient.
Striking lapsed at the beginning of the reign of James I (1603-1625) and sovereigns were not struck again until 1817, following a wide-ranging reform of the currency which saw Britain at last formally adopt the gold standard. Smaller and thicker, but still one pound in value, the revived sovereign achieved international status, circulating not just in the territories of the British Empire but also worldwide. From the deserts of the Arabic peninsula to the jungle of the Indian subcontinent as well as in the City of London, the sovereign became so universally popular that, in the 19th century, it could be called the “chief coin of the world”.
The gold sovereign is still struck today.
Gold sovereign of King Charles III, 2024. 9,98g. (actual diameter: 19.3mm).
