Myshemihekte - Alyattes II Sardes

Lydian electrum fractions like this mysheмihekte — one ninety-sixth of a stater — represent the earliest phase of coined money anywhere in the world, predating Athens, Rome, and every Persian issue. Alyattes II, father of the more famous Croesus, is credited by most scholars with formalizing the Lydian mint at Sardis, transforming what had been irregular lumps of naturally occurring electrum into a guaranteed weight series. The alloy itself was not fully controlled at this stage; the gold-silver ratio varied piece to piece, which the Lydian treasury apparently accepted as long as weight held.