For many, numismatics begins with the gold coins minted by the Lydian kings, and so ‘Croesus’ is still a familiar name today when it comes to money. Croesus, who ruled Lydia from around 555 BC to 541 BC, had the electrum mined in Lydia, a natural alloy of gold and silver, minted into pieces of equal weight, thus creating a means of exchange whose significance continues to this day. The Greeks followed suit and issued coins for both commercial and political reasons. For many, Greek coins are considered masterpieces of die-cutting artistry. Under Roman rule in ancient times, coins were sometimes minted in large quantities, as soldiers in distant parts of the empire had to be paid and political events had to be propagated with the help of pictorial representations. Coins with the appropriate motifs were an important means of propaganda.

Even though the Byzantine Empire did not fall until the Middle Ages, these coins are still considered part of the ancient world. These coins feature depictions of Christianity for the first time. With the fall of the Roman Empire, the Germanic tribes within the empire and on its borders grew stronger and began minting their own coins, mostly imitations of Roman pieces. This period is known as the ‘migration period’ and is often considered the end of an ancient universal collection.

Ancient numismatics thus encompasses almost 2000 years of coin history. The beauty of these small works of art and the way they bring history to life through the depictions on the coins make them a fascinating area of collecting.