Page:Origin of metallic currency and weight standards.djvu/311

If on the other hand silver held a lower value in relation to gold on the coasts of the Aegean, and the electrum employed in that quarter was alloyed to a greater extent with silver, two disturbing elements are introduced. The probabilities are in favour of silver being cheaper in Cilicia and the contiguous region, and most certainly at Cyzicus the electrum was half silver, whilst the Phocaic electrum had a bad name in antiquity, since according to Hesychius Phocaic gold was synonymous with bad gold. Is it then possible that 220 grains of electrum were equivalent to 130 grs. of pure gold? This gives about 60 per cent. of gold. If gold was to silver as 13·5:1, the gold unit of 130 grs. is equal to 8 silver pieces of 220 grs. (130 × 13·3 = 1765 ÷ 8 = 220·6). In our present state of knowledge it is impossible to decide in favour of either view, but it is at least evident that some such relation and adjustment must have existed between the three metals. In fact the problem which the Lydians tried to solve was not merely that of Bimetallism, but of Trimetallism.

Fig. 28. Lydian electrum coin.

These early electrum coins are simply bullet-shaped lumps of metal, like the so-called bean money formerly employed by the Japanese, having what is termed the obverse plain or rather striated, as a series of lines in relief run across the coin, whilst the reverse has three incuse depressions, that in the centre oblong, the others square. The coin here figured (from the British Museum specimen) is on the Babylonian silver standard (166·8 grs.), but it is on the staters of Phoenician standard that we first find any attempt at types or symbols. The idea of engraving some symbol on the punches used for stamping the incuse depressions was in truth the grand step