Investing In Gold Coins Sensibly What Is The History of Gold Coins? Gold coins have a rich and storied history dating back to ancient civilizations. The first known metal specie were minted by the Lydians, an ancient civilization in what is now modern-day Turkey, around 640 BCE. These items, known as the Lydian lion, were made from electrum, a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver. The use of gold in coinage quickly spread to other cultures, such as the Greeks and Persians, and became a standard form of currency in the ancient world. The use of gold coins continued to be popular in the medieval period, with European monarchs often minting their own coinage. The Byzantine Empire, for example, minted the solidus, a gilded Gold Coins that remained in use for over a thousand years. In medieval Europe, gilded farthings were often used for large transactions, such as the payment of taxes, while silver and bronze farthings were used for smaller transactions. During th...