A Short History of Coins

The use of coins of one kind or another, as a means of exchange, has been practiced since ancient times around the world.

So where does the history of coins begin? Archeological experts say the Chinese were the first to widely use cast coins, sometime around the 11th century B.C. The Shang Dynasty minted copper coins to use as currency, to replace the traditional and more fragile shell currency. Many of these coins were stamped with characters from the Chinese language. (The 500 years of the Shang Dynasty was a great period in the development and use of Chinese writing.) Examples of these ancient Chinese coins still exist in private and public collections.

The history of coins used primarily as currency in the Western world usually begins by crediting Lydia, an Iron Age kingdom of western Asia Minor (Turkey), as the first makers of coins. Coins dating back to around 643 B.C. in that region have been found made of electrum, a natural alloy of gold and silver. The quality of these metal coins was guaranteed by the Lydian rulers, and were manufactured consistently, making them a trustworthy form of exchange.

Since that time, coins have been an important part of the major civilizations of the world and been traded for goods and services throughout the globe.

Art history and coin history merge when during the fifth century B.C., the Greeks started commissioning artists to design the faces and figures on their coins. The deities that populate Greek mythology as well as Greek heroes were the subjects of the coin artists. Collectors of these ancient treasures, claim that Greek coins are among the most beautiful, with their displays of statuesque gods, goddesses, and mythical heroes that reflected the Greek Ideal of human perfection.

Alexander the Great propagated the use of coinage in his conquered realms which stretched from Greece to India, He instituted the practice of using realistic portrayals on the coins, instead of idealistic representations. A boon to historians, these down-to-earth portraits stand out as some of the only true renderings of the ancient leaders of the period. Indeed, coins from this point on can often be used as an historical primer, as they typically honored the political leaders of any given time period.

Ancient Greek Silver Coin Featuring Alexander the Great

Minting Coins. The forerunner to the modern die method, the planchet method for coin production was implemented by the Italians around the 16th century. Up until that time, coins were mainly hand-struck with hammer and anvil. The punch method made it practical and feasible to produce larger quantities of coins, and the practice quickly spread throughout the civilized world.

It is thought that the first coins in North America were minted in Mexico City, following the Spanish Conquest of the New World. This is the origin of the famous Spanish dabloons or Spanish doubloons...

In the United States, a new country's official minting of coins began in 1792, with the passage of the Coinage Act. This law legalized the United States dollar as the official unit of monetary exchange throughout the states, a standard which still stands today.

The Philadelphia Mint was the first to manufacture US coins, starting in 1792, when it coined the first US Silver Dollar. The Carson City Mint in Nevada operated form 1869 to 1893. Coins minted there are marked with a "CC". Another mint no longer in operation was the New Orleans Mint.

Today, the Denver Mint, opened in 1863, along with the Philidelphia Mint produce coins for use in common circulation. The San Francisco Mint and the West Point mint also produce coins, mainly proof sets and gold coins. Each US coin is marked with a P, D, S or W, depending on the mint at which it is produced.

There are a number of hobbyists who collect only US coins, starting with the original silver dollars minted in the late 1700s, and right up to the shiny new coins being circulated today. Favorites include the Susan B. Anthony silverless dollar coin, the 1964 Kennedy half dollar, and the currently popular State Quarters series and the presidential $1 coins.

Thanks to the durability of the metals used to make coins, many very old and rare coins still exist today. And more ancient and not-so-ancient coins are constantly being uncovered thanks to formal archeological digs, treasure hunters and accidental discoveries. For the collector of historic coins, the chance to hold a variety of coins minted thousands of years ago is still possible. And this is part of the thrill of coin collecting.

About the Author:  Scott Harker is the publisher of several websites including: Sherlock Holmes Pastiches, Harvest The Sun | Renewable Energy, Naming the Baby, E-book-catalog.com - Knowledge at Your Fingertips, and Home Business Direct.

Publisher's Note:  Of course, you can always use Coin Collector's Dream as a starting place for coin collecting. Check out the menu on the left for your coin collecting needs - silver and gold coins, tokens, supplies, paper money and more.

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