COINS: 
ESPECIALLY THOSE RELATING TO YORK. 
By GEORGE BENSON. 
Hon. Curator of Archeology. 
(The numbers in brackets refer to the coins shown on the Plates.) 
Introduction.—Greek Coins. 
“THE Egyptians, Chaldeans and Assyrians attained great skill 
in metallurgy ; they had written characters ; they had an 
extensive commerce, but in the time of their independence they 
never had a coinage. Even the Phoenicians had it not till a late 
period—certainly not till after their subjugation by Persia.” 
Coins were in use in Lydia in Asia Minor as early as seven 
hundred years before Christ. The earliest were made of electrum 
with an “ incuse ” or sunk panel on the reverse. Some of the 
city-states in Europe that comprised Greece sent out colonies 
across the Aegean sea. These settlers occupied the seaboard of 
Asia Minor, and adopted from their neighbours, the Lydians, the 
use of coins, but introduced engraved dies and the use of silver. 
The tortoise is depicted on these coins. The use of coins spread 
to the other Greek states. On the Attic coinage the owl is repre¬ 
sented. 
Gold coins were introduced by the wealthy Craesus, King of 
Lydia, who brought under his rule the neighbouring Greek cities. 
In 546 b.c. he was attacked and defeated by the Persians. The 
gold coins (“ darics ”) of King Darius circulated in Greece. The 
Greek state of the Ionians revolted. The Persians attacked the 
European Greek states, but suffered defeat. In 338 b.c. Philip 
II. of Macedon became master of Greece. He issued a gold stater 
showing the head of Apollo and a two-horsed chariot. These coins 
became popular. The design was copied by other races in Gaul 
