The appearance of coins is inseparable from Lydia and Persia. This region, located to the east of Greece in what is now Turkey, saw the first coins appear in the West around the middle of the 7th century BC. This fundamental innovation emerged between 650 and 600 BC, with notable archaeological discoveries such as the coins found in the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, dated to circa 600 BC. These primitive coins were made of electrum, a natural alloy of gold and silver with amber-like reflections, and were often crude in appearance, simply marked with punches or rudimentary motifs.

Below is one of the earliest Lydian coins, featuring a lion with its prey. One might notice a punch mark on the reverse, which some believe was an assay test to verify the metal's purity. While this is an early example, this piece is a replica. Authentic electrum and gold pieces are often represented by reproductions in collections.

This is what these early pieces looked like: a stamped blob (or lump, in English) of metal.

Contrary to the widespread belief that money was invented to facilitate everyday trade and replace barter, the first Lydian, Achaemenid, and Greek coins were likely not initially used for small-scale commerce. The monetary units were often too large for everyday transactions, and their circulation was initially limited to regions near their production.

However, the anthropological argument that coins were not used for everyday trade due to their large denomination is not definitive. Although some coins were equivalent to a day's wage, smaller denominations have also been found, suggesting they could have been used for everyday purchases.

The origin of coins appears to be directly linked to the actions of states. There are two main hypotheses on this subject: the first, idealistic, draws a parallel between the Greek term 'nomisma' (money) and 'nomos' (law), suggesting that money was linked to the codification of laws, reinforcing the authority and political organization of cities. The second, more realistic hypothesis, widely accepted today, is that money was first and foremost a means for states to exercise economic and social control. By officially guaranteeing the weight and value of the precious metals they contained, states were able to manipulate the circulation and value of these coins, creating confidence and liquidity premiums specific to domestic currencies.

Evidence for this practice exists. For instance, in electrum coins, natural electrum is normally around 70% gold and 30% silver. In the first coins, specifically the early Lydian coins, the gold content is approximately 50 to 55% instead of 70. This suggests that even back then, coin issuers were trying to reduce the share of the more precious metal, probably to produce more coins and make them appear to be worth the same as an unmarked blob of natural electrum. This practice became systematic under King Croesus—as in "rich as Croesus"—as it was during his reign that the technology to separate gold and silver was developed.

Lydian coinage underwent a major evolution during the reign of the famous king Croesus (561-546 BC), renowned for his legendary wealth. During his reign, the Lydians perfected metallurgy to separate gold and silver from electrum, thus introducing the first bimetallic coins, i.e., separate gold and silver coins.

When they conquered Lydia in 546 BC, the Achaemenid Persians immediately adopted this innovation. Around 500 BC, under the reign of Darius I, the Persians established their own monetary system with gold darics and silver siglois, often bearing the royal effigy in warlike poses. This royal Persian coinage was mainly used in the Hellenized regions of the Persian Empire and gradually spread, although its use remained uneven, with some regions, such as Egypt, still preferred exchange in weighed metal (bullion)..

The image above shows a Persian sigloi (or siglos). The design features a king, although the figure has been slightly worn away. The siglos is a silver coin, in contrast to the daric, which was made of gold. The Persians could distinguish these two metals, and they moved away from electrum coins. They implemented bimetallism, using both gold and silver while maintaining the same concept of coins made from precious metals, often with a hole at the back, for checking the metal content.

The rapid adoption of coins by the Greeks seems to have been stimulated by their close contacts with the Lydians, particularly through the Greek colonies in Asia Minor. The first Greeks to mint coins were probably the inhabitants of Aegina in the mid-sixth century BC, who introduced the drachma, whose weight varied from region to region, and whose name literally means "handful of grain" or "handful of arrows".

The success of Greek coinage was as much due to its convenience for important transactions, such as the payment of mercenaries, as to the economic and political expansion of the cities. Currency rapidly became a central element of the Greek and, later, Roman economy, while retaining a strong symbolic dimension, notably through its association with the law (nomos).

Finally, the rapid expansion of coinage bears witness to a profound transformation of ancient societies, where the codification of monetary values went hand in hand with state organization. This evolution laid the economic and political foundations for the rise of Greek democracies, particularly in Athens, where money played a crucial role in the functioning of the democratic city.

This section addresses coins specifically, not money in general. The central aspect that emerges clearly is that of trust in the issuing authority, directly linked to the technical characteristics of coins (weight, purity, face value). It is precisely this trust that enables the state or the issuing authority to exert a degree of control or even manipulate the value and circulation of these coins from the outset.