April — sept. 1859.] in Ancient and Modern times. 73 



Clearchus commanded in Cyrus' expedition against his brother 

 Artaxerxes. The piece is now rare, having been re-coined by 

 Alexander the Great after his conquest of Persia. 



Philip and Alexander of Macedonia issued gold " staters." 

 These coins contained no alloy except a little silver. They were 

 recently current in Greece at a value of 255. each. 



The Lydians are said by Herodotus to have been the first 

 people who coined gold and silver. At any rate, the earliest 

 gold coinage known in Greece was the Lydian stater, issued by 

 Croesus. The oldest gold coins extant are Lydian, and their 

 execution is very elegant. The mountain Imolus, in Lydia, 

 abounded in gold, which the celebrated Pactolus carried down. 

 To this cause the early rise and prosperity of Sardis, built at 

 its foot, are to be attributed. Bockh says, that the Pactolian 

 gold was electrum, which Pliny defines to be four-fifths gold and 

 one-fifth silver. The supply from this source must have been 

 very considerable. We know that Croesus, besides his coinage, 

 deposited large quantities of gold in ingots in the Temple at 

 Delphi. 



From a very early period the Asiatic nations, the Greek cities 

 of Asia Minor, and others in Sicily and Magna Grsecia had coined 

 gold. I have already mentioned the Sybarite coinage, probably 

 derived through Miletus from Lydia. We have extant, coins of 

 Gelon, Tyrant of Syracuse and of his successor. The former ob- 

 tained his sovereignty B. C. 485, according to Clinton's dates. 

 But coming to Greece properly so called, we find no gold cur- 

 rency until much more than a century after this. Gold seems to 

 have been rather scarce in Greece. The supply came from Asia 

 Minor and the adjacent islands chiefly; though not entirely, for 

 the Athenians possessed gold mines in Thrace, though they did 

 not coin the produce. The gold coin which was in circulation in 

 Greece, before the rise of the Macedonian power, came chiefly 

 from the same source in the form of the tribute paid to the Athe- 

 nians by their so-called " allies." Persian darics and Macedonian 

 staters circulated ; but (with one exception) the Athenians coined 

 no gold until the period I have mentioned — that of Macedonian 

 supremacy. At that time gold became more abundant in Greece 

 Vol. xx. o. s. Vol. yi. n. s. 



