The Cambridge Collection tells the story of the world’s first coins—our Director of Ancient Coins, Zach Beasley, explains Ionian electrum to Croesus’ groundbreaking bi-metallic standard. The most important reform attributed to Croesus was the introduction of a bimetallic coinage in gold and silver, first augmenting and then replacing previous electrum issues. The creation of separate gold and silver denominations was a visionary move that had a major impact on the ancient economy. Croesus gold s