Coins Around The World

Some archaeological and literary evidences suggest that the Indians invented coinage, somewhere between the 6th to 5th century BC. However, some numismatists consider coins to have originated ca. 600-550 BC in Anatolia, which corresponds to modern-day Turkey, in particular in the Anatolian kingdom of Lydia. Opponents of the Lydia scenario point to the fact that coins of that era have been totally absent from archeological finds in Sardis, capital of Lydia. A coin, by definition, is an object used to facilitate commerce and exchanges. The proponents of the Lydian Greek coins scenario admit the fact that they were likely not used in commerce or industry. Electrum coins were not standardized in weight and are considered by opponents as badges, medals or ceremonial objects issued by priests, rather than coins (actually the oldest of them have been discovered not in Lydia, but in an ancient Greek temple of Ephesos), a city colony built by the ancient Greeks (modern day Turkey).
The oldest coins are considered by other numismatists to be the Aegina Chelone coins which were minted ca. 700-550 BC, either by the local Aegina people or by Pheidon king of Argos (who first set the standards of weights and measures). In the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, there is a unique electrum stater of Aegina. The date of this coin can hardly be much later than about B.C. 700.
The Ancient Greeks spread the Anatolia practice (or vice versa) and extended it to commerce and trade. Coinage followed Greek colonization and influence first around the Mediterranean and soon after to North Africa (including Egypt), Syria, Persia, and the Balkans.
The first Lydian coins were made of electrum, a naturally occurring alloy of silver and gold that was further alloyed with added silver and copper. Many early Lydian and Greek coins were undoubtedly minted under the authority of private individuals and are thus more akin to tokens or badges than true coins, though because of their numbers it's evident that some were official state issues, with King Alyattes of Lydia being a frequently mentioned originator of coinage.