Silver Jewelry History That Became Legend Part III - The Lydian Trite

Asia Minor And Its History And Legends"Metal certified by marks upon it to be of a definite
During the 6th and 5th Centuries before Christ, theexchange value and issued by government to be used
Lydian empire with its impregnable capital of Sardisas money." were produced in great numbers.
perched high on Mount Tmolos changed world history.The 'Trite', the most common Lydian denomination of
Contrary to the neighboring Phrygians, who had beenits time, was made from electrum alloys and usually
in Anatolia since just 1200 B.C., the Lydians were anconsisted of 53% gold, 45% percent silver and 2%
ancient race whose origins were planted in earlierpercent copper. It was supposed that the coins were
Hittite cultures. Lydia, lying at the Mediterranean end ofminted for trading in respect to the fact that Sardis
an ancient trade route that led all the way to thewas located at the end of a major trade route that
Arabian coast of Mesopotamia, had always beenextended all the way to the Babylonian gulf in
prosperous, but under the reign of King Alyattes II andSouthern Mesopotamia, but this has been largely
later his son and heir Croesus, it became one of Asia'sdispelled due to the gold and silver coins of being far
richest empires in gold and silver.too large a value, about a month's subsistence in total.
After beating back the attacking Cimmerians in theDespite the large quantities of production, no Lydian
700 B.C., Lydia absorbed Phyrgia its wealth of gold andgold or silver coins have been found in or around
silver, and all its lands including the source of Kingarcheological digs associated with market trade in the
Midas' wealth: the gold and silver rich Paktolos River.Lydian empire, or elsewhere along the extensive
To extract precious metals from the river, the Lydiansconnecting trade routes used at the time. It is instead
dredged the river's sediments, filtering out the electrum,believed that these gold and silver coins were intended
gold, and silver particles using sheepskins. The lanolin, aas trade for tax payments, religious offerings, wedding
waxy material found in wool, captures the preciouspresents, hospitality offerings, or salaries to
metals but allows sand to wash over it. It is believedmercenaries.
that this method may have given rise to the legend ofWhatever the case Lydia was the first example of
'The Golden Fleece'. Contrary to supposition, concretethe transition from an agricultural barter economy to a
proof of Lydia's metallurgical prowess and its use ofcommercial monetary urban economy. Today, scholars
the river's precious ores were later found atbelieve that the Lydians invented the world's first free
archeological excavations near Lydia's capital city,market, and created gold and silver coins because
Sardis.they were the first to recognize their profit-making
Archeologists, on discovering an ancient industrialpotential. This was proved in Lydia's economic growth,
quarter near the Paktolos River just outside Sardis,which in less than a hundred years under King Alyattes
exposed a variety of objects including a blow-pipeII and his son and heir Croesus, saw it go from a
nozzle, bellows, ovens, crucibles, cupules, andkingdom to an empire. Indeed, it is from this period that
waste-materials, which corroborate that the localthe expression 'as rich as Croesus' is derived.
silversmiths had the ability to separate gold and silverSoon, Croesus' began to build diplomatic ties with
from placer electrum by cementation and cupellationmainland Greece, funding the building of one of the
processes. Further discoveries of stone moulds alsoseven ancient wonders: the temple of the Greek
testify to the Sardians' utilization of their local suppliesgoddess Artemis at nearby Ephesus, and inviting the
of gold and silver for the making of fine jewelry.Athenian statesman Solon to Lydia. During his stay
However, the gold and silversmiths of Lydia didn'tSolon, who later formed the weight standards for the
make history with their ability to produce fine jewelry,Athenian silver drachmas, became influenced by
but with the world's first monetary system. While theLydia's ingenious monetary reforms and carried the
much earlier established civilizations of Mesopotamiaidea back to Greece.
and Egypt were still bartering in the form of silverRead Silver Jewelry History That Became Legend
ingots, silver rings, and other items of precious metals,Part I - King Midas
Lydians were using coins with a mark of authority at aRead Silver Jewelry History That Became Legend
fixed exchange value.Part II - Jason's Fleece
In the 6th Century B.C. under King Alyattes II, gold andCopyright © SilverShake Corporation. All Rights
silver coins as defined in Webster's dictionary asReserved.