Electron (alloy)
An electron or electrum (from Greek ήλεκτρον ḗlektron , German 'amber' , later Latin electrum 'amber, silver money' ) is an originally mineral alloy of gold and silver that was later artificially produced. Gold rarely occurs in its pure form (as nuggets ) in nature . Due to a high silver content, the electron has a paler yellow color than pure gold, but the sulphidation of the silver in the air quickly results in a darker color. In addition to silver, the natural electron often also contains a mostly small amount of copper . The gold content of mineral electron alloys fluctuates widely and can be between about 90% and 20%, typically around 73%. Silver with a gold content of less than 10% was formerly known as golden silver .
development
The electron was originally thought to be a metal in its own right. The oldest known coins from Lydia from the 7th century BC. BC were minted from electron, making it the oldest coin alloy . Likewise, early Celtic coins are often made of electrons. Well-known electron deposits in antiquity were in Asia Minor and Spain . In addition to minting coins , electron was also used for jewelry .
In Lydia, 4.7 gram coins were minted in electron, which corresponds to ⅓ stater (standard). Three of these coins (weighing about 14.1 grams, almost half an ounce ) made a stater, a soldier's wages for about a month. To add to the stater, fractions were made: the trites (thirds), the hectares (sixths) and so on, up to the 24th part of a stater and even down to 1/48 and 1/96 of a stater. The 1/96 stater was only about 0.14-0.15 grams. Higher denominations, such as a full stater, were also minted.
In ancient times, especially in Egypt and Greece , electron was used in many ways and was especially revered because of its "dark color". It graced z. B. the tops of the great obelisks of Hatshepsut in Karnak . Likewise, the closing stone of Egyptian pyramids , the pyramidion , was often initially coated with electrons and therefore shone in the sunlight. Elektron was also popular with the Huns .
The alloy probably took its name from the similarly colored amber , which is also called electron in Greek . It can be assumed that the gold-containing metal, mentioned in early ancient Greek sources as Asem , corresponds to the alloy electron. The ancient electron has nothing to do with the modern light metal alloy of the same name .
See also billon as a coin alloy.
literature
- Hugo Blümner : Electron . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume V, 2, Stuttgart 1905, Col. 2315-2317.
- Heinz Fengler: Lexicon Numismatics. transpress publishing house for traffic, Berlin 1988, ISBN 3-344-00220-1 .
- Lindner / Schreitmüller: Instructions for the coin collector. Lindner Falzlos, Schömberg 1998
Web links
- Electrum lion coins of the ancient Lydians (about 600BC)
- A Case for the World's First Coin: The Lydian Lion ( Memento from July 22, 2011 in the Internet Archive )