Top 10 Oldest Coins in the World

Posted by Andrew Adamo on Sep 23rd 2024

Top 10 Oldest Coins in the World

Coinage has been used as a method of payment for thousands of years. Most coin collectors find the history of these old coins fascinating. The oldest coins in the world can teach us a lot about the cultures and societies that created them so many years ago.

What Is the Oldest Coin in the World? The Top 10

Let’s take a journey back in time and look deeper into the top ten oldest coins in the world.

The Lydian Stater Electrum Coin

The LydianStaterElectrum coin is the earliest form of ancient currency that we know of. Lydia was in what we know as modern-dayTurkey in Asia Minor.

The world’s first gold coins originated in the kingdom of Lydia before it fell to the Persian Empire. These early coins played an important role in the development of currency and trade in the ancient world.

Despite how stunning this coin was, the Ionian Greeks were the first to really use coinage (The Hemiobols) in everyday life. After Croesus, the King of Lydia, was captured by invading soldiers from Persia, coin usage spread there too.

This coin features a lion, a symbol beloved by the Lydian kings. The coin is made of a natural alloy of gold and silver that’s found in riverbeds called electrum.

The early Lydian coins had a gold content of about 55%, but that increased to approximately 80-90% gold over time. That suggests that Lydian metallurgists were able to separate silver from the naturally occurring electrum and add more silver to the coinage before casting it into coins.

The earliest Staters are believed to date from the late 7th Century BCE (600-625), during the reign of King Alyattes. The LydianStaterElectrum coin is a valuable artifact of ancient history and is prized by coin collectors and numismatists alike.

The Ancient Greek Athens Decadrachm

One of the most impressive coins ever produced in the ancient world is the Athens Decadrachm. It’s a large silver coin that was minted in Athens during the 5th century BCE.

This iconic ancient coin was minted during a difficult time, as the Greeks had just spent decades fighting off invading Persian armies. Once they achieved their victory (around 469 and 465 BC), the Ancient Greek Athens Decadrachm was struck to commemorate their victory over the Persians.

There are 40 known specimens, with 18 of them being locked in museum collections and the remaining 19 in private collections. The coin’s design is highly detailed and a testament to the skill and artistry of the ancient Athenian minters.

The Decadrachm is the only Athenian coin in which the reverse displays a facing owl with its wings spread. The coin’s obverse features a profile of the goddess of Athena.

The Akragas Decadrachm

One of the most beautiful and valuable coins of the ancient world is the Akragas Decadrachm. It’s also one of the rarest ancient coins, with only ten known examples to have survived.

During the time this coin was minted (411 BC), Akragas, which is now Agrigento, was one of the largest and wealthiest cities in Greece. Before it fell to the Carthaginians, Akragas issued a decadrachm to honor the winner of an Olympic chariot race.

The coin’s obverse design is a depiction of the sun god Helio traveling in his chariot with an eagle soaring above. The reverse of the coin shows a pair of eagles flying with a hare they just killed.

The Akragas Decadrachm was likely used as a commemorative coin. The silver content used to produce the coin made it too valuable for everyday transactions. Harvard’s art museum has a worn example of this piece, and the British Museum has a finer example that is heavily guarded.

The Syracuse Decadrachm

Another ancient coin from Greece is the Syracuse Decadrachm. It was minted in Syracuse, Sicily, during the 5th century BC. During this time, various cities on the island of Sicily were competing to produce the highest-quality silver coins, and the art of engraving coins was at a high standard.

The Decadrachm of Syracuse is known for being one of the finest examples of numismatic art from ancient times. The coin stood out for its high silver content and large size, weighing 43 grams. It was one of the largest coins in circulation at the time and likely reserved for big purchases.

This magnificent coin was designed by one of the most famous engravers in Ancient Greece, Kimon. One side of the coin features a portrait of the nymph Arethusa facing left with three dolphins surrounding. The other side depicts a quadriga, with Nike crowning the charioteer.

The Naxos Tetradrachm

One of the greatest and best coins from antiquity is the Naxos Tetradrachm. It was minted in the city of Naxos on the island of Sicily in the 5th century BC. Unlike other ancient coins engraved by different people and produced by multiple dies, this exquisite coin was struck from a single pair of dies.

Naxos was the oldest Greek colony in Sicily and very wealthy due to the surrounding volcanic soil. This led to the city being subjugated by Syracuse in 476 BC. Following the death of Hieron in 461 BC, the Naxians were able to retake their city. The Naxos Tetradrachm issue was struck to commemorate the event.

The ancient coin depicts the bearded head of the god Dionysos facing right on one side of the coin, and the satyr Silenus is seated in the nude on the back. The level of fine details in the depiction of Dionysus is one of the best examples of ancient Greek coin making.

The Gold Stater of Croesus

The Gold Stater of Croesus is the world’s first minted coin in pure gold. King Croesus, the last king of the Lydian empire, is mostly remembered for introducing the first pure silver and pure gold coins. This use of precious metals was groundbreaking.

As you might remember from the first coin we mentioned, Electrum was used to make the earliest ancient coins. However, the alloy mixture of gold and silver proved to be a challenging material for minting coins.

King Croesus figured out a way to mint coins out of pure gold and pure silver to create a more standard value for the coins, which made it easier to conduct commerce across regions. The coin’s high purity and quality made it a valuable store of wealth and a symbol of power and prestige.

This ancient gold coin features a bull and a roaring lion facing each other. The lion is seen as a symbol of royalty on the coin. A hammer was used to punch two deep impressions of the image on a blank coin.

The Titus Colosseum Sestertius of Ancient Greece

The Titus Colosseum Sestertius is a Roman coin that was minted during the reign of the emperor Titus Caesar Vespasianus, who ruled from 79-81 AD. This ancient coin features one of the earliest depictions of the iconic Colosseum.

The last two levels of the Colosseum were completed in 80 AD. After its completion, Titus held dedication ceremonies with 100 days of games and issued the sestertius to commemorate the events.

The coin’s obverse features a portrait of Titus with the Latin inscription “IMP TITVS CAES VESPASIAN AVG P M” around the edges. The reverse of the coin depicts the Colosseum with the Latin inscription “S C” at the bottom.

There are ten known examples of this ancient coin.

The Cleopatra/Mark Antony Denarius From Ancient Egypt

The Cleopatra and Mark Antony Portrait Denarius depicts one of the most famous couples in history, Cleopatra and Mark Antony.

Cleopatra was a central figure in the Roman civil war between Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, and Octavian. She originally joined with Caesar until his assassination in 44 BC, then joined Mark Antony against Octavian.

The denarius was struck in 32 BC, most likely to commemorate their short-lived alliance. Octavian would later defeat Mark Antony at the Battle of Actium in 30 BC, which led to Cleopatra and Mark Antony each committing suicide. All of these political struggles resulted in the end of Egypt’s existence as a sovereign nation and the destruction of the Ptolemaic dynasty.

After Octavian’s victory, he ordered many of the Cleopatra and Mark Antony Portrait Denarius to be melted down and replaced with his own image. Surviving examples of these rare coins are scarce.

Port of Ostia Sestertius Roman Coin

The Port of Ostia Sestertius is considered one of the most attractive coins ever struck by the Roman empire. This beautiful ancient coin was produced to commemorate the completion of the artificial harbor at Ostia in 64 AD.

This rare coin is made of brass, which was a common material for Roman coins of that time period. The coin measures around 32-34 mm in diameter and weighs about 20-25 grams, which is a relatively large coin and allows for more details in the design.

The front of the coin bears a bust of the emperor Nero facing right along with the inscription “NERO CLAVD CAESAR AVG GER P M TR P IMP P P” around the edge. The reverse depicts an overview of the new harbor with an image of the river god Tiber on the back.

The Julius Caesar Portrait Denarius

Julius Caesar is arguably one of the most famous people in history, as one of the most brilliant and controversial military leaders in Roman history.

The Julius Caesar Portrait Denarius (44 BC) is historically significant because prior to this denarius, no coins minted in the Roman Republic ever bore the image of a ruler. Every Roman emperor that came after him followed his approach to Roman coinage.

This rare ancient coin is made of silver and measures around 18-20 mm in diameter, which is a relatively small coin. The portrait of Julius Caesar on the coin’s obverse served as a powerful symbol of his authority and leadership.

Add Rare Ancient Coins to Your Coin Collection

If you want to add rare ancient coins to your coin collection, Bullion Shark is the coin dealer you can rely on. We have a large assortment of the earliest coins in a variety of denominations.

Sources:

10 Most Important Ancient Coins Ever Minted | TheCollector

CoinWeek Ancient Coins Series – Million Dollar Ancients (and a Few That Come Close) | CoinWeek

Coins of Ancient Empires | AMNH

Naxos | ancient Greek colony, Sicily | Britannica

Sestertius of Titus, showing the Colosseum | Rome | The Metropolitan Museum of Art