3600-year-old silver pieces confirmed as first money used in the Levant

AncientOrigins/Nathan Falde/1-11-2023

“In a fascinating new study has found that dozens of silver pieces found during excavations in Israel and the Gaza Strip were actually used as currency in ancient times. Since the silver pieces were likely made and put into circulation sometime between 1,700 and 1,600 BC, in the Middle Bronze Age, this would make them the oldest form of currency ever discovered in the Levant (modern-day Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria).”

USAGOLD note: Before gold, silver was the circulating medium of exchange, and savers hoarded it. The “coins” were minted in Turkey then shipped to the Levant where it was used as currency.
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Map courtesy of MapMaster, (2021, February 21). Map of the Levant. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/image/13269/map-of-the-levant/