Grade and Composition of the First Money in Anatolia/Anadolu'da Ilk Paranin Ayar ve Alasimi

Most important contribution of Lydian Kingdom in history is known as the invention of money. First money is coined during Lydian King Kroisos' age from a mixture of gold and silver mine which is called as electrum. In front faces of coins there is an image of top of a lion and a bull placed back to back. According to a view, lion was symbolizing Lydian Kingdom and bull was symbolizing neighbor Phrygian Kingdom. There were strong evidence supporting lion was the sign of Lydian Kingdom. There were also some traces that bull has a relation with Phrygian Kingdom. According to a legend, Phrygian Kingdom Midas ended his life by drinking bull blood. Another view related with the argument opposes that depiction of these two animals back to back implies the superiority of lion to bull thus Lydian Kingdom to Phrygian Kingdom. The aim of this study is to detect grades of gold and silver composite of Lydian coins which are called electrums by pertinent electronic devices. In the research, latest technology product Thermo Scientific Xrf Tester which is developed for precious mine testing and Gemoro Auracle Agt1 that is developed for gold testing are used, amount of mines (gold, silver, iron, copper) are determined by percentage for production of each coin. Eventually, as a result of the study, gold is detected in very few amounts in Lydian coins. It is revealed that coins are formed mostly from silver, copper, iron, lead and similar materials. Therefore it becomes possible to analyze precious historical ruins in detail and precision by electronic devices developed specifically for this purpose. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]