Smart money6–8 · 9+
One of the Oldest Coins
One of the oldest coins ever had a lion's head on it!
Why?
About 2,600 years ago, in a kingdom called Lydia (in what is now Turkey), people made some of the very first coins in history!
They didn’t look like the round coins we use today. They were small and lumpy, a bit like a bean! They were made of electrum, a metal found in nature that is a mix of gold and silver.
Each coin was stamped with a lion, the symbol of the king. The lion showed that the coin was official, so people could trust it and use it to buy things.
Try it
Make your own coins with play dough or clay 🪙! Flatten small balls, then press a bottle cap or a button into each one to stamp a design. What symbol will you choose for your coins?
Ask Mum & Dad
What picture would you put on your own coin, and why?