Which country minted the first known gold coins?

The ancient kingdom of Lydia is credited with minting the first known gold coins.

Lydia occupied western Anatolia, in modern-day Turkey, and became an important center of trade during the seventh and sixth centuries BCE. Its early coins were made from electrum, a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver, and were stamped with official designs to indicate their accepted weight and value.

The Lydian king Croesus, who ruled around 560–546 BCE, is especially associated with the first true gold coins of standardized purity. Known as Croeseids, these coins were made from refined gold rather than variable electrum and were issued alongside standardized silver coins. Their dependable metal content made them more practical for commerce.

A common mix-up is confusing the first coins with the first gold coins. Lydia’s earliest coinage was electrum, not pure gold; the distinction became important when Croesus introduced separate gold and silver denominations. After Persia conquered Lydia, Persian rulers continued using the region’s minting traditions at Sardis.