Electron Pubblico Deposited
A natural alloy of gold and silver employed by the Ionian Greeks at an early period for money. The name seems to be derived from the Greek, i.e., amber, the color of the alloy resembling this product. It was found in considerable quantities in the river Pactolus in Lydia, and is mentioned by Pliny and Sophocles. The electrum of Asia Minor contained approximately twenty-seven per cent of silver, but coins of Africa and Sicilian coins of Agathocles in this metal contain a larger percentage. The pale gold coins of the Merovingians and the Postulatsgulden of Liege, issued about A.D. 1500 and containing about fifty per cent of silver, are not natural electrum, but a mixture purposely effected.
- Frey's Dictionary (American Journal of Numismatics, Vol. 50, 1916)