Page:History of Art in Phrygia, Lydia, Caria and Lycia.djvu/273

 THE LYDIANS, THEIR COUNTRY, HISTORY, AND RELIGION. 257 gold and silver as having been issued conjointly. The latter should have been omitted. The oldest silver coins that can be assigned to Lydia, with any degree of probability, are of a much less archaic type than the electrum examples ; and numismatists agree in not carrying them back beyond the age of Crcesus. This prince is generally credited with the introduction of a double standard, pure gold and pure silver, which took the place of electrum, the standard of which was not rigorously defined. This wise and happy reform, it is said, largely contributed to the increase of commercial enterprise and the wealth of his kingdom. Be that as it may, the silver coins under consideration, whether they were struck in Lydia or in the Greek cities of Asia Minor, are markedly younger than the first tortoise examples of .^Egina. As these, their type is in relief, and of good workman- ship. It is highly probable that the mint at >Egina issued the first silver coins.