From Asia Minor across the globe



Originating in Lydia, the ancient Greeks spread the minted coin throughout the Mediterranean world. The Macedonian king Alexander the Great (336–323 BC) introduced Greek coinage to India. In the east, the Byzantine Empire and the historical Islamic states followed in the old Greco-Roman tradition.



After the fall of the Roman Empire, the circulation of money declined noticeably in the west. The reforms initiated by Charlemagne (768–814) marked the beginning of the medieval system of coinage which relied on a single coin, the silver penny, also referred to as denarius.



In the course of the 11th century, the common coinage split into numerous regional currencies. Reforms and the founding of coin federations led to new, higher-value coins and larger currency areas from the 14th century on. In the 19th century the new nation states created the currencies as we still know them today.