Ancient Coins

Coins emerged in early Greek culture during the Archaic Period (~800–500 BC) during the rise and development of city states. The ancient Greek urban center of Kiazomenai (now in present-day Turkey) was one of the first cities to issue silver coins, around 650 BC. Other city states followed by minting their own coins. Roman and Persian societies were evolving concurrently and soon began minting and distributing coins of their realms. Rome continued minting coins until its fall (~455 AD).