FIRST COIN STILL A MATTER OF DEBATE Pubblico Deposited
The E-Sylum: Volume 7, Number 39, September 26, 2004, Article 16
FIRST COIN STILL A MATTER OF DEBATE
Regarding David Klinger's question about the first coins,
Reid Goldsborough writes: "The question of the world's first
coin, long debated, is still very much under debate, with many
scholars joining in. In trying to answer the question, much
depends on the definition you use for "coin." All coins are
money (doesn't include exonumia) but not all money is in the
form of coinage. Few numismatists would classify the flat
roll of uninscribed bronze bullion at the Numismatic Museum
in Athens, described in last week's E-Sylum, as a coin. Much
also depends on how you interpret the archeological evidence
or whose interpretation of the archeological evidence you
believe. And much depends on how definitive you feel the
evidence needs to be before you put forth or accept any
given theory. I covered this debate, and argued for the
Lydian Lion as the world's first coin, in recent articles for
The Numismatist and The Journal of the Classical and
Medieval Numismatic Society. I've also put together an
expanded version of these articles at this Web page: Consolidated Articles "- 2004-09-26
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